THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

IN  MEMORY  OF 
EDWIN  CORLE 

PRESENTED  BY 
JEAN  CORLE 


THE 

ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

A  DETECTIVE  NOVEL 
Sequel   to   the    "Exploits" 

BY 
ARTHUR  B.  REEVE 


THE  CRAIG  KENNEDY  SERIES 


THE  ROMANCE 
OF  ELAINE 

ARTHUR5.REEVE 

WITH    FRONTISPIECE 


HARPER  $  BROTHERS- PUBLISHERS 

MBW     YORK     AND    L.OMDON 


THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 


Copyright,  1916,  by  HEARST'S  INTERNATIONAL  LIBRARY  Co.,  INC. 
All  rights  reserved,  including  translation  into  foreign  languages. 

including  the  Scandinavian 
Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  THE  SERPENT  SIGN  ...,.*    s    .       i 
II  THE  CRYPTIC  RING  ........    25 

III  THE  WATCHING  EYE 49 

'  IV  THE  VENGEANCE  OF  Wu  FANG  ....     74 

V  THE  SHADOWS  OF  WAR 97 

VI  THE  LOST  TORPEDO 122 

VII  THE  GRAY  FRIAR 141 

VIII  THE  VANISHING  MAN 161 

IX  THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR 180 

X  THE  CONSPIRATORS    ........  199 

XI  THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE  .     .....  218 

XII  THE  DEATH  CLOUD  ........  238 

XIII  THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN 257 

XIV  THE  LIFE  CHAIN 276 

XV  THE  FLASH .  295 

XVI  THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS  .     .     .    .     .315 
XVII  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  ..,,..  334 


The  Romance  of  Elaine 


CHAPTER  I 


RESCUED  by  Kennedy  at  last  from  the  terrible  in 
cubus  of  Bennett's  persecution  in  his  double  life  of 
lawyer  and  master  criminal,  Elaine  had,  for  the  first 
time  in  many  weeks,  a  feeling  of  security. 

Now  that  the  strain  was  off,  however,  she  felt  that 
she  needed  rest  and  a  chance  to  recover  herself  and 
it  occurred  to  her  that  a  few  quiet  days  with  "  Aunt " 
Tabitha,  who  had  been  her  nurse  when  she  was  a  little 
girl,  would  do  her  a  world  of  good. 

She  sent  for  Aunt  Tabby,  yet  the  fascination  of  the 
experiences  through  which  she  had  just  gone  still 
hung  over  her.  She  could  not  resist  thinking  and 
reading  about  them,  as  she  sat,  one  morning,  with 
the  faithful  Rusty  in  the  conservatory  of  the  Dodge 
house. 

I  had  told  the  story  at  length  in  the  Star,  and  the 
heading  over  it  caught  her  eye. 

It  read: 

THE  CLUTCHING  HAND  DEAD 


Double  Life  Exposed  by  Craig  Kennedy 
i 


2  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Perry  Bennett,  the  Famous  Young  Lawyer,  Takes 
Poison — Kennedy  Now  on  Trail  of  Master  Crim 
inal's  Hidden  Millions. 


As  Elaine  glanced  down  the  column,  Jennings  an 
nounced  that  Aunt  Tabby,  as  she  loved  to  call  her  old 
friend,  had  arrived,  and  was  now  in  the  library  with 
Aunt  Josephine. 

With  an  exclamation  of  delight,  Elaine  dropped 
the  paper  and,  followed  by  Rusty,  almost  ran  into  the 
library. 

Aunt  Tabby  was  a  stout,  elderly,  jolly- faced 
woman,  precisely  the  sort  whom  Elaine  needed  to 
watch  over  her  just  now. 

"  Oh,  I'm  so  glad  to  see  you,"  half  laughed  Elaine 
as  she  literally  flung  herself  into  her  nurse's  arms. 
"  I  feel  so  unstrung — and  I  thought  that  if  I  could 
just  run  off  for  a  few  days  with  you  and  Joshua  in 
the  country  where  no  one  would  know,  it  might 
make  me  feel  better.  You  have  always  been  so  good 
to  me.  Marie!  Are  my  things  packed?  Very  well. 
Then,  get  my  wraps." 

Her  maid  left  the  room. 

"  Bless  your  soul,"  mothered  Aunt  Tabby  stroking 
her  soft  golden  hair,  "  I'm  always  glad  to  have  you  in 
that  fine  house  you  bought  me.  And,  faith,  Miss 
Elaine,  the  house  is  a  splendid  place  to  rest  in  but  I 
don't  know  what's  the  matter  with  it  lately.  Joshua 
says  its  haunts— 

"  Haunts  ? "  repeated  Elaine  in  amused  surprise. 
"  Why,  what  do  you  mean  ?  " 

Marie  entered  with  the  wraps  before  Aunt  Tabby 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  3 

could  reply  and  Jennings  followed  with  the  baggage. 

"  Nonsense,"  continued  Elaine  gaily,  as  she  put  on 
her  coat,  and  turned  to  bid  Aunt  Josephine  good-bye. 
"  Good-bye,  Tabitha,"  said  her  real  aunt.  "  Keep 
good  care  of  my  little  girl." 

"  That  I  will,"  returned  the  nurse.  "  We  don't 
have  all  these  troubles  out  in  the  country  that  you 
city  folks  have." 

Elaine  went  out,  followed  by  Rusty  and  Jennings 
with  the  luggage. 

"  Now  for  a  long  ride  in  the  good  fresh  air,"  sighed 
Elaine  as  she  leaned  back  on  the  cushions  of  the  Dodge 
limousine  and  patted  Rusty,  while  the  butler  stowed 
away  the  bags. 

The  air  certainly  did,  if  anything,  heighten  the 
beauty  of  Elaine  and  at  last  they  arrived  at  Aunt 
Tabby's,  tired  and  hungry. 

The  car  stopped  and  Elaine,  Aunt  Tabby  and  the 
dog  got  out.  There,  waiting  for  them,  was  "  Uncle  " 
Joshua,  as  Elaine  playfully  called  him,  a  former  gard 
ener  of  the  Dodges,  now  a  plain,  honest  countryman 
on  whom  the  city  was  fast  encroaching,  a  jolly  old 
fellow,  unharmed  by  the  world. 

Aunt  Tabby's  was  an  attractive  small  house,  not 
many  miles  from  New  York,  yet  not  in  the  general 
line  of  suburban  travel. 

Kennedy  and  I  had  decided  to  bring  Bennett's  pa 
pers  and  documents  over  to  the  laboratory  to  ex 
amine  them.  We  were  now  engaged  in  going  over 
the  great  mass  of  material  which  he  had  collected,  in 
the  hope  of  finding  some  clue  to  the  stolen  millions 


4  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

which  he  must  have  amassed  as  a  result  of  his  vil 
lainy.  The  table  was  stacked  high. 

A  knock  at  the  door  told  us  that  the  expressman 
had  arrived  and  a  moment  later  he  entered,  deliver 
ing  a  heavy  box.  Kennedy  signed  for  it  and  started 
to  unpack  it. 

I  was  hard  at  work,  when  I  came  across  a  large 
manila  envelope  carefully  sealed,  on  which  were  writ 
ten  the  figures  "  $7,000,000."  Too  excited  even  to 
exclaim,  I  tore  the  envelope  open  and  examined  the 
contents. 

Inside  was  another  envelope.  I  opened  that.  It 
contained  merely  a  blank  piece  of  paper! 

With  characteristic  skill  at  covering  his  tracks, 
Bennett  had  also  covered  his  money.  Puzzled,  I 
turned  the  paper  over  and  over,  looking  at  it  care 
fully.  It  was  a  large  sheet  of  paper,  but  it  showed 
nothing. 

"  Huh !  "  I  snorted  to  myself,  "  confound  him." 

Yet  I  could  not  help  smiling  at  my  own  folly,  a 
minute  later,  in  thinking  that  the  Clutching  Hand 
would  leave  any  information  in  such  an  obvious  place 
as  an  envelope.  I  threw  the  paper  into  a  wire  basket 
on  the  desk  and  went  on  sorting  the  other  stuff. 

Kennedy  had  by  this  time  finished  unpacking  the 
box,  and  was  examining  a  bottle  which  he  had  taken 
from  it. 

"  Come  here,  Walter,"  he  called  at  length.  "  Ever 
see  anything  like  that?" 

"  I  can't  say,"  I  confessed,  getting  up  to  go  to 
him.  "What  is  it?" 

"  Bring  a  piece  of  paper."  he  added. 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  5 

I  went  back  to  the  desk  where  I  had  been  working 
and  looked  about  hastily.  My  eye  fell  on  the  blank 
sheet  of  paper  which  I  had  taken  from  Bennett's  en 
velope,  and  I  picked  it  up  from  the  basket. 

"  Here's  one,"  I  said,  handing  it  to  him.  "  What 
are  you  doing?" 

Kennedy  did  not  answer  directly,  but  began  to  treat 
the  paper  with  the  liquid  from  the  bottle.  Then  he 
lighted  a  Bunsen  burner  and  thrust  the  paper  into 
the  flame.  The  paper  did  not  burn ! 

"  A  new  system  of  fire-proofing,"  laughed  Craig, 
enjoying  my  astonishment. 

He  continued  to  hold  the  paper  in  the  flame.  Still 
it  did  not  burn. 

"  See  ?  "  he  went  on,  withdrawing  it,  and  starting 
to  explain  the  properties  of  the  new  fire-proof er. 

He  had  scarcely  begun,  when  he  stopped  in  sur 
prise.  He  had  happened  to  glance  at  the  paper  again, 
bent  over  to  examine  it  more  intently,  and  was  now 
looking  at  it  in  surprise. 

I  looked  also.  There,  clearly  discernible  on  the  pa 
per,  was  a  small  part  of  what  looked  like  an  archi 
tect's  drawing  of  a  fireplace. 

Craig  looked  up  at  me,  nonplussed.  "Where  did 
you  say  you  got  that?  "  he  asked. 

"  It  was  a  blank  piece  of  paper  among  Bennett's 
effects,"  I  returned,  as  mystified  as  he,  pointing  at  the 
littered  desk  at  which  I  had  been  working. 

Kennedy  said  nothing,  but  thrust  the  paper  back 
again  into  the  flame.  Slowly,  the  heat  of  the  burner 
seemed  to  bring  out  the  complete  drawing  of  the  fire 
place. 


6  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

We  looked  at  it,  even  more  mystified.  "  What  is 
it,  do  you  suppose?"  I  queried. 

"  I  think,"  he  replied  slowly,  "  that  it  was  drawn 
with  sympathetic  ink.  The  heat  of  the  burner  brought 
it  out  into  sight." 

What  was  it  about? 

Elaine  had  gone  to  bed  that  night  at  Aunt  Tabby's 
in  the  room  which  her  old  nurse  had  fixed  up  especially 
for  her.  It  was  a  very  attractive  little  room  with 
dainty  chintz  curtains  and  covers  and  for  the  first 
time  in  many  weeks  Elaine  slept  soundly  and  fearlessly. 

Down-stairs,  in  the  living-room,  Rusty  also  was 
asleep,  his  nose  between  his  paws. 

The  living-room  was  in  keeping  with  everything  at 
Aunt  Tabby's,  plain,  neat,  homelike.  On  one  side 
was  a  large  fireplace  that  gave  to  it  an  air  of  quaint 
hospitality. 

Suddenly  Rusty  woke  up,  his  ears  pointed  at  this 
fireplace.  He  stood  a  moment,  listening,  then,  with 
a  bark  of  alarm  he  sped  swiftly  from  the  living-room, 
up  the  stairs  at  a  bound,  until  he  came  to  Elaine's 
room. 

Elaine  felt  his  cold  nose  at  her  hand  and  stirred, 
then  awoke. 

"What  is  it,  Rusty?"  she  asked,  mindful  of  the 
former  days  when  Rusty  gave  warning  of  the  Clutch 
ing  Hand  and  his  emissaries. 

Rusty  wagged  his  tail.     Something  was  wrong. 

Elaine  followed  him  down  to  the  living-room.  She 
went  over  and  lighted  the  electric  lamp  on  the  table, 
then  turned  to  Rusty. 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  7 

''Well,  Rusty?"  she  asked,  almost  as  if  he  were 
human. 

She  had  no  need  to  repeat  the  question.  Rusty  was 
looking  straight  at  the  fireplace. 

Elaine  listened.  Sure  enough,  she  heard  strange 
noises.  Was  that  Aunt  Tabby's  "haunt"?  What 
ever  it  was,  it  sounded  as  if  it  came  up  from  the  very 
depths  of  the  earth. 

She  could  not  make  out  just  what  it  sounded  like. 
It  might  have  been  some  one  striking  a  piece  of  iron, 
a  bolt,  with  a  sledge. 

What  was  it? 

She  continued  to  listen  in  wonder,  then  ran  to 
Aunt  Tabby's  bedroom  door,  on  the  first  floor,  and 
knocked. 

Aunt  Tabby  woke  up  and  shook  Joshua. 

"  Aunt  Tabby !  Aunt  Tabby !  "  called  Elaine. 

"  Yes,  my  dear,"  answered  the  old  nurse,  now  fully 
awake  and  straightening  her  nightcap.  "  Joshua !  " 

Together  the  old  couple  came  out  into  the  living- 
room,  still  in  their  nightclothes,  Joshua  yawning 
sleepily  still. 

"  Listen !  "   whispered  Elaine. 

There  was  the  noise  again.  This  time  it  was  more 
as  though  some  one  were  beating  a  rat-tat-tat  with 
something  on  a  rock.  It  was  weird,  uncanny,  as  all 
stood  there,  none  knowing  where  the  strange  noises 
came  from. 

"It's  the  haunts!"  cried  Aunt  Tabby,  trembling  a 
bit.  "  For  three  nights  now  we've  been  hearing  these 
noises." 

Around  and  around  the  room  they  walked,  still  try* 


8  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

ing  to  locate  the  strange  sounds.  Were  they  under 
the  floor?  It  was  impossible  to  say.  They  gave  it 
up  and  stood  there,  looking  blankly  at  each  other. 
•Was  it  the  work  of  human  or  superhuman  hands? 

Finally  Joshua  went  to  a  table  drawer  and  opened 
it.  He  took  out  a  huge,  murderous-looking  re 
volver. 

"  Here,  Miss  Elaine,"  he  urged,  pressing  it  on  her, 
"  take  this — keep  it  near  you !  " 

The  noises  ceased  at  length,  as  strangely  as  they 
had  begun. 

Half  an  hour  later,  they  had  all  gone  back  to  bed 
and  were  asleep.  But  Elaine's  sleep  now  was  fitful, 
a  constant  procession  of  faces  flitted  before  her 
closed  eyes. 

Suddenly,  she  woke  with  a  start  and  stared  into  the 
semi-darkness.  Was  that  face  real,  or  a  dream  face? 
Was  it  the  hideous  helmeted  face  that  had  dragged 
her  down  into  the  sewer  once?  That  man  was  dead. 
Who  was  this? 

She  gazed  at  the  bedroom  window,  holding  the 
huge  revolver  tightly.  There,  vague  in  the  night  light, 
appeared  a  figure.  Surely  that  was  no  dream  face  of 
the  oxygen  helmet.  Besides,  it  was  not  the  same 
helmet. 

She  sat  bolt  upright  and  fired,  pointblank,  at  the 
window,  shivering  the  glass.  A  second  later  she  had 
leaped  from  the  bed,  switched  on  the  lights  and  was 
running  to  the  sill. 

Down-stairs,  Aunt  Tabby  and  Uncle  Joshua  had 
heard  the  shot.  Joshua  was  now  wide  awake.  He 
seized  his  old  shotgun  and  ran  out  into  the  living- 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  9 

room.  Followed  by  Aunt  Tabby,  he  hurried  to 
Elaine. 

"Wh-what  was  it?"  he  asked,  puffing  at  the  ex 
ertion  of  running  up-stairs. 

"  I  saw — a  face — at  the  window — with  some  kind 
of  thing  over  it!"  gasped  Elaine.  "  It  was  like  one 
I  saw  once  before." 

Uncle  Joshua  did  not  wait  to  hear  any  more.  With 
the  gun  pointed  ahead  of  him,  ready  for  instant  action, 
he  ran  out  of  the  room  and  into  the  garden,  beneath 
Elaine's  window. 

He  looked  about  for  signs  of  an  intruder.  There 
was  not  a  sound.  No  one  was  about,  here. 

"  I  don't  see  any  one,"  he  called  up  to  Elaine  and 
Aunt  Tabby  in  the  window. 

He  happened  to  look  down  at  the  ground.  Before 
him  was  a  small  box.  He  picked  it  up. 

"  Here's  something,  though,"  he  said. 

Joshua  went  back  into  the  house. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Elaine  as  he  rejoined  the 
women. 

She  took  the  curious  little  box  and  unfastened  the 
tover.  As  she  opened  it,  she  drew  back.  There  in 
the  box  was  a  little  ivory  figure  of  a  man,  all  hunched 
up  and  shrunken,  a  hideous  figure.  She  recoiled  from 
it — it  reminded  her  too  much  of  the  Chinese  devil-god 
she  had  seen, — and  she  dropped  the  box. 

For  a  moment  all  stood  looking  at  it  in  horrified 
amazement. 

It  was  the  afternoon  following  the  day  of  our 
strange  discovery  of  the  fireplace  done  in  sympathetic 


io  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

ink  on  the  apparently  blank  sheet  of  paper  in  Ben 
nett's  effects,  when  the  speaking-tube  sounded  and  I 
answered  it. 

"  Why— it's  Elaine,"  I  exclaimed. 

Kennedy's  face  showed  the  keenest  pleasure  at  the 
unexpected  visit.  "  Tell  her  to  come  right  up,"  he 
said  quickly. 

I  opened  the  door  for  her. 

"  Why — Elaine — I'm  awfully  glad  to  see  you,"  he 
greeted,  "  but  I  thought  you  were  rusticating." 

"  I  was,  but,  Craig,  it  seems  to  me  that  wherever  I 
go,  something  happens,"  she  returned.  "  You  know, 
Aunt  Tabby  said  there  were  haunts.  I  thought  it  was 
an  old  woman's  fear — but  last  night  I  heard  the 
strangest  noises  out  there,  and  I  thought  I  saw  a  face 
at  the  window — a  face  in  a  helmet.  And  when  Joshua 
went  out,  this  is  what  he  found  on  the  ground  under 
my  window." 

She  handed  Kennedy  a  box,  a  peculiar  affair  which 
she  touched  gingerly  and  only  with  signs  of  the  great 
est  aversion. 

Kennedy  opened  it.  There,  in  the  bottom  of  the 
box,  was  a  little  ivory  devil-god.  He  looked  at  it  curi 
ously  a  moment. 

"  Let  me  see,"  he  ruminated,  still  regarding  the 
sign.  "  The  house  you  bought  for  Aunt  Tabby,  once 
belonged  to  Bennett,  didn't  it?" 

Elaine  nodded  her  head.  "  Yes,  but  I  don't  see  what 
that  can  have  to  do  with  it,"  she  agreed,  adding  with 
a  shudder,  "  Bennett  is  dead." 

Kennedy  had  taken  a  piece  of  paper  from  the  desk 
where  he  had  put  it  away  carefully.  "  Have  you  ever 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  u 

seen  anything  that  looks  like  this?  "  he  asked,  handing 
her  the  paper. 

Elaine  looked  at  the  plan  carefully,  as  Kennedy  and 
I  scanned  her  face.  She  glanced  up,  her  expression 
showing  plainly  the  wonder  she  felt. 

"  Why,  yes,"  she  answered.  "  That  looks  like  Aunt 
Tabby's  fireplace  in  the  living-room." 

Kennedy  said  nothing  for  a  moment.  Then  he 
seized  his  hat  and  coat. 

"If  you  don't  mind,"  he  said,  '*  we'll  go  back  there 
with  you." 

"  Mind  ?  "  she  repeated.  "  Just  what  I  had  hoped 
you  would  do." 

Wu  Fang,  the  Chinese  master  mind,  had  arrived  in 
New  York. 

Beside  Wu,  the  inscrutable,  Long  Sin,  astute  though 
he  was,  was  a  mere  pigmy — his  slave,  his  advance 
agent,  as  it  were,  a  tentacle  sent  out  to  discover  the 
most  promising  outlet  for  the  nefarious  talents  of  his 
master. 

New  York  did  not  know  of  the  arrival  of  Wu  Fang, 
the  mysterious — yet.  But  down  in  the  secret  recesses 
of  Chinatown,  in  the  ways  that  are  devious  and  dark, 
the  oriental  crooks  knew — and  trembled. 

Thus  it  happened  that  Long  Sin  was  not  permitted 
to  enjoy  even  the  foretaste  of  Bennett's  spoils  which 
he  had  forced  from  him  after  his  weird  transformation 
into  his  real  self,  the  Clutching  Hand,  when  the  China 
man  had  given  him  the  poisoned  draught  that  had  put 
him  into  his  long  sleep. 

He   had   obtained    the    paper    showing   where   the 


12  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

treasure  amassed  by  the  Clutching  Hand  was  hidden, 
but  Wu  Fang,  his  master,  had  come. 

Wu  had  immediately  established  himself  in  the  most 
sumptuous  of  apartments,  hidden  behind  the  squalid 
exterior  of  the  ordinary 'tenement  building  in  China 
town. 

The  night  following  his  arrival,  Wu  Fang  was  re 
clining  on  a  divan,  when  his  servant  announced  that 
Long  Sin  was  at  the  door. 

As  Long  Sin  entered,  it  was  evident  that,  cunning 
and  shrewd  though  he  was  himself,  Wu  was  indeed 
his  master.  He  approached  in  fear  and  awe,  cringing 
low. 

"  Have  you  brought  the  map  with  you?  "  asked  Wu. 

Long  Sin  bowed  low  again,  and  drew  from  under 
his  coat  the  paper  which  he  had  obtained  from  Ben 
nett.  For  a  moment  the  two,  master  and  slave  in 
guile,  bent  over,  closely  studying  it. 

At  one  point  in  the  map  Long  Sin's  bony  finger 
paused  over  a  note  which  Bennett  had  made : 

BEWARE   POISONED   GAS   UPON   OPENING 
COMPARTMENT. 

"  And  you  think  you  can  trace  it  out  ?  "  asked  Wu. 

"  Without  a  doubt,"  bowed  Long  Sin. 

He  went  over  to  a  bag  near-by,  which  he  had  al 
ready  sent  up  by  another  servant,  and  opened  it.  In 
side  was  an  oxygen  helmet.  He  replaced  it,  after 
showing  it  to  Wu. 

"  With  the  aid  of  the  science  of  the  white  devil,  we 
shall  overcome  the  science  of  the  white  devil,"  purred 
Long  Sin  subtly. 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  13 

Outside,  Wu  had  already  ordered  a  car  to  wait,  and 
together  the  two  drove  off  rapidly.  Into  the  country, 
they  sped,  until  at  last  they  came  to  a  lonely  turn  in  a 
lonely  road,  somewhat  removed  from  the  section  that 
was  rapidly  being  built  up  as  population  reached  out 
from  the  city,  but  on  a  single-tracked  trolley  line. 

Long  Sin  alighted  and  disappeared  with  a  parting 
word  of  instruction  from  Wu  who  remained  in  the  car. 
The  Chinaman  carried  with  him  the  heavy  bag  with 
the  oxygen  helmet. 

Along  this  interurban  trolley  the  cars  made  only 
half-hourly  trips  at  this  time  of  night.  Long  Sin  hur 
ried  down  the  road  until  he  came  to  a  trolley  pole, 
then  looked  hastily  at  his  watch.  It  was  twenty  min 
utes  at  least  before  the  next  car  would  pass. 

Quickly,  almost  monkey-like,  he  climbed  up  the  pole, 
carrying  with  him  the  end  of  a  wire  which  he  had 
taken  from  the  bag. 

Having  thrown  this  over  the  feed  wire,  he  slid 
quickly  to  the  ground  again.  Then,  carrying  the  other 
end  of  the  wire  in  his  rubber-gloved  hands,  he  made  his 
way  through  the  underbrush,  in  and  out,  almost  like 
the  serpent  he  was,  until  he  came  to  a  passageway  in 
the  rough  and  uncleared  hillside — a  small  opening 
formed  by  the  rocks. 

It  was  dark  inside,  but  he  did  not  hesitate  to  enter, 
carrying  the  wire  and  the  bag  with  him. 

It  was  nightfall  before  we  arrived  with  Elaine  at 
Aunt  Tabby's.  We  entered  the  living-room  and  Elaine 
introduced  us  both  to  Aunt  Tabby  and  her  husband. 

It  was  difficult  to  tell  whether  Elaine's  old  nurse 


14  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

was  more  glad  to  see  her  than  the  faithful  Rusty  who 
almost  overwhelmed  her  even  after  so  short  an  absence. 

In  the  midst  of  the  greetings,  I  took  occasion  to 
look  over  the  living-room.  It  was  a  very  cozy  room, 
simply  and  tastefully  furnished,  and  I  fancied  that  I 
could  see  in  the  neatness  of  Aunt  Tabby  a  touch  of 
Elaine's  hand,  for  she  had  furnished  it  for  her  faith 
ful  old  friend. 

I  followed  Kennedy's  eyes,  and  saw  that  he  was 
looking  at  the  fireplace.  Sure  enough,  it  was  the  same 
in  design  as  the  fireplace  which  the  heat  had  so  unex 
pectedly  brought  out  in  sympathetic  ink  on  the  blank 
sheet  of  paper. 

Kennedy  lost  no  time  in  examining  it,  and  we 
crowded  around  him  as  he  went  over  it  inch  by  inch, 
following  the  directions  on  the  drawing. 

At  one  point  in  the  drawing  a  peculiar  protuberance 
was  marked.  Kennedy  was  evidently  hunting  for 
that.  He  found  it  at  last  and  pressed  the  sort  of  lever 
in  several  ways.  Nothing  seemed  to  happen.  But 
finally,  almost  by  chance,  he  seemed  to  discover  the 
secret. 

A  small  section  at  the  side  of  the  fireplace  opened 
up,  disclosing  an  iron  ladder,  leading  down  into  one 
of  those  characteristic  hiding-places  in  which  the 
Clutching  Hand  used  to  delight. 

Kennedy  looked  at  the  mysterious  opening  some 
time,  as  if  trying  to  fathom  the  mystery. 

"  Let's  go  down  and  explore  it,"  I  suggested,  taking 
a  step  toward  the  ladder. 

Kennedy  reached  out  and  pulled  me  back.     Then 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  15 

without  a  word  he  pressed  the  little  lever  and  the  door 
closed. 

"  I  think  we'd  better  wait  a  while,  Walter,"  he  de 
cided.  "  I  would  rather  hear  Aunt  Tabby's  haunts 
myself." 

He  carefully  went  over  not  only  the  rest  of  the 
house  but  the  grounds  about  it,  without  discovering 
anything. 

Aunt  Tabby,  with  true  country  hospitality,  seemed 
unable  to  receive  guests  without  feeding  them,  and, 
although  we  had  had  a  big  dinner  at  a  famous  road- 
house  on  the  way  out,  still  none  of  us  could  find  it  in 
our  hearts  to  refuse  her  hospitality.  Even  that  di 
version,  however,  did  not  prevent  us  from  talking  of 
nothing  else  but  the  strange  noises,  and  I  think,  as  we 
waited,  we  all  got  into  the  frame  of  mind  which 
would  have  manufactured  them  even  if  there  had  been 
none. 

We  were  sitting  about  the  room  when  suddenly  the 
most  weird  and  uncanny  rappings  began.  Rusty  was 
on  his  feet  in  a  moment,  barking  like  mad.  We  looked 
from  one  to  another. 

It  was  impossible  to  tell  where  the  noises  came  from, 
or  even  to  describe  them.  They  were  certainly  not 
ghostly  rappings.  In  fact,  they  sounded  more  like 
some  twentieth  century  piece  of  machinery. 

We  listened  a  moment,  then  Kennedy  walked  over 
to  the  fireplace.  "  You  can  explore  it  with  me  now, 
Walter,"  he  said  quietly,  touching  the  lever  and  open 
ing  the  panel  which  disclosed  the  ladder. 

He  started  down  the  ladder  and  I  followed  closely. 


16  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Elaine  was  about  to  join  us,  when  Kennedy  paused 
on  the  topmost  round  and  looked  up  at  her. 

"  No,  no,  young  lady,"  he  said  with  mock  severity, 
"  you  have  been  through  enough  already — you  stay 
where  you  are." 

Elaine  argued  and  begged  but  Kennedy  was  obdu 
rate.  It  was  only  when  Aunt  Tabby  and  Joshua  added 
their  entreaties  that  she  consented  reluctantly  to  re 
main. 

Together,  Craig  and  I  descended  into  the  darkness 
about  eight  or  ten  feet.  There  we  found  a  passageway, 
excavated  through  the  earth  and  rock,  along  which  \ve 
crept.  It  was  crooked  and  uneven,  and  we  stumbled, 
but  kept  going  slowly  ahead. 

Kennedy,  who  was  a  few  feet  in  front  of  me,  stopped 
suddenly  and  I  almost  fell  over  him. 

"  What  is  it?  "  I  whispered. 

Long  Sin  had  made  his  way  from  the  opening  of 
the  cave  to  the  point  on  the  plan  which  was  marked  by 
a  cross,  and  there  he  had  set  up  his  electric  drill  which 
was  connected  to  the  trolley  wire.  He  was  working 
furiously  to  take  advantage  of  the  fifteen  minutes  or 
so  before  the  next  car  would  pass. 

The  tunnel  had  been  widened  out  at  this  point  into 
a  small  subterranean  chamber.  It  was  dug  out  of  the 
earth  and  the  roof  was  roughly  propped  up,  most  of 
the  weight  being  borne  by  one  main  wrooden  prop 
which,  in  the  dampness,  had  now  become  old  and  rot 
ten. 

On  one  side  it  was  evident  that  Long  Sin  had  al- 
readv  been  at  work,  digging  and  drilling  through  the 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  17 

earth  and  rock.  He  had  gone  so  far  now  that  he  had 
disclosed  what  looked  like  the  face  of  a  small  safe  set 
directly  into  the  rock. 

As  he  worked  he  would  stop  from  time  to  time  and 
consult  the  map.  Then  he  would  take  up  drilling 
again. 

He  had  now  come  to  the  point  on  which  Bennett 
had  written  his  warning.  Quickly  he  opened  the  bag 
and  took  out  the  oxygen  helmet,  which  he  adjusted 
carefully  over  his  head.  Then  he  set  to  work  with  re 
doubled  energy. 

It  \vas  that  drill  as  well  as  his  pounding  on  the  rock 
which  had  so  alarmed  Elaine  and  Aunt  Tabby  the 
night  before  and  which  now  had  been  the  signal  for 
Kennedy's  excursion  of  discovery. 

Our  man,  whoever  he  was,  must  have  heard  us  ap 
proaching  down  the  tunnel,  for  he  paused  in  his  work 
and  the  noise  of  the  drill  ceased. 

He  looked  about  a  moment,  then  went  over  to  the 
prop  and  examined  it,  looking  up  at  the  roof  of  the 
chamber  above  him.  Evidently  he  feared  that  it  was 
not  particularly  strong. 

From  our  vantage  point  around  the  bend  in  the 
passageway  we  could  see  this  strange  and  uncouth 
figure. 

"  Who  is  it,  do  you  think?  "  I  whispered,  crouching 
back  against  the  wall  for  fear  that  he  might  look  even 
around  a  corner  or  through  the  earth  and  discover  us. 

As  I  spoke,  my  hand  loosened  a  piece  of  rock  that, 
jutted  out  and  before  I  knew  it  there  was  a  crash. 

•"  Confound  it,  Walter,"  exclaimed  Kennedy. 


i8  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Down  the  passageway  the  figure  was  now  thor 
oughly  on  the  alert,  staring  with  his  goggle-like  eyes 
into  the  blackness  in  our  direction.  It  was  not  the 
roof  above  him  that  was  unsafe.  He  was  watched, 
and  he  did  not  hesitate  a  minute  to  act. 

He  seized  the  bag  and  picked  his  way  quickly 
through  the  passage  as  if  thoroughly  familiar  with 
every  turn  of  the  walls  and  roughness  of  the  floor. 

We  were  discovered  and  if  we  were  to  accomplish 
anything,  it  was  now  or  never. 

Kennedy  dashed  forward  and  I  followed  close  after 
him. 

We  were  making  much  better  time  than  our  strange 
visitor  and  were  gaining  on  him  rapidly.  Nearer  and 
nearer  we  came  to  him,  for,  in  spite  of  his  familiarity 
with  the  cavern  he  was  hampered  by  the  outlandish 
head-gear  that  he  wore. 

It  was  only  another  instant,  when  Kennedy  would 
have  laid  his  hands  on  him. 

Suddenly  he  half  turned,  raised  his  arm  and  dashed 
something  to  the  earth  much  as  a  child  explodes  a  toy 
torpedo.  I  fully  expected  that  it  was  a  bomb;  but,  as 
a  moment  later,  I  found  that  Kennedy  and  I  were  still 
unharmed,  I  knew  that  it  must  be  some  other  product 
of  this  devilish  genius. 

The  thickest  and  most  impenetrable  smoke  seemed 
to  pervade  the  narrow  cavern ! 

"  A  Chinese  smoke  bomb !  "  sputtered  and  coughed 
Kennedy,  as  he  retreated  a  minute,  then  with  renewed 
vigor  endeavored  to  penetrate  the  dense  and  opaque 
fumes. 

We  managed  to  go  ahead  still,  but  the  intruder  had 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  19 

exploded  one  after  another  of  his  peculiar  bombs, 
always  keeping  ahead  of  the  smoke  which  he  created, 
and  we  found  that  under  its  cover  he  had  made  good 
his  escape,  probably  reaching  the  entrance  of  the  cave 
in  the  underbrush. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  passageway,  up  in  the  living- 
room  of  the  cottage,  the  draught  had  carried  large 
quantities  of  the  smoke.  Elaine,  Aunt  Tabby  and 
Joshua  coughing  and  choking,  saw  it,  and  opened  a 
window,  which  seemed  to  cause  a  current  of  air  to 
sweep  through  the  whole  length  of  the  passageway  and 
helped  to  clear  away  the  fumes  rapidly. 

Long  Sin,  meanwhile,  had  started  to  work  his  way 
through  the  bushes  to  reach  the  waiting  car,  with  Wu, 
then  paused  and  listened.  Hearing  no  sound,  he  re 
placed  the  helmet  which  he  had  taken  off. 

Pursuit  was  now  useless  for  us.  With  revolvers 
drawn,  we  crept  back  along  the  passageway  until  we 
came  again  to  the  chamber  itself.  There,  on  the  floor, 
lay  a  bag  of  tools,  opened,  as  though  somebody  had 
been  working  with  them. 

"Caught  red-handed!"  exclaimed  Kennedy  with 
great  satisfaction. 

He  looked  at  the  tools  a  minute  and  then  at  the 
electric  drill,  and  finally  an  idea  seemed  to  strike  him. 
He  took  up  the  drill  and  advanced  toward  the  safe. 
Then  he  turned  on  the  current  and  applied  the  drill. 

The  drill  was  of  the  very  latest  design  and  it  went 
quickly  through  the  steel.  But  beyond  that  there  was 
another  thin  steel  partition.  This  Kennedy  tackled 
next. 

The  drill  went  through  and  he  withdrew  it. 


20  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Instantly  the  most  penetrating  and  nauseous  odor 
seemed  to  pervade  everything. 

Kennedy  cried  out.  But  his  warning  was  too  late. 
We  staggered  back,  overcome  by  the  escaping  gas  and 
fell  to  the  ground. 

Long  Sin,  with  his  oxygen  helmet  on  again,  had  re 
turned  to  the  passageway  and  was  now  stealthily  creep 
ing  back. 

He  came  to  the  chamber  and  there  discovered  us 
lying  on  the  ground,  overcome.  He  bent  down  and, 
to  his  great  satisfaction,  saw  that  we  were  really  un 
conscious. 

Quickly  he  moved  over  to  the  safe  and  pried  open 
the  last  thin  steel  plate. 

Inside  was  a  small  box.  He  picked  it  up  and  tried 
to  open  it,  but  it  was  locked.  There  was  no  time  to 
work  over  it  here,  and  he  took  it  under  his  arm  and 
started  to  leave. 

He  paused  a  moment  to  look  at  us,  then  took  out  a 
piece  of  paper  and  a  pencil  and  on  the  paper  wrote, 
"  Thanks  for  your  trouble." 

Beneath,  it  was  signed  by  his  special  stamp — the 
serpent's  head,  mouth  open  and  fangs  showing. 

Long  Sin  looked  at  us  a  moment,  then  a  subtle  smile 
seemed  to  spread  over  his  face.  At  last  he  had  us  in 
his  power. 

He  drew  out  a  long,  wicked-looking  Chinese  knife 
and  stuck  it  through  the  note. 

Then  he  felt  the  edge  of  the  knife.     It  was  keen. 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  21 

In  the  sitting-room,  Elaine,  Aunt  Tabby  and  Joshua 
had  been  listening  intently  at  the  fireplace  but  heard 
nothing. 

They  were  now  getting  decidedly  worried.  Finally, 
the  fumes  which  we  had  released  made  their  way  to 
the  room.  They  were  considerably  diluted  by  fresh  air 
by  that  time,  but,  although  they  were  nauseous,  were 
not  sufficient  to  overcome  any  one.  Still,  the  smell 
was  terrible. 

"  I  can't  stand  it  any  longer,"  cried  Elaine.  "  I'm 
going  down  there  to  see  what  has  become  of  them." 

Aunt  Tabby  and  Joshua  tried  to  stop  her,  but  she 
broke  away  from  them  and  went  down  the  ladder. 
Rusty  leaped  down  after  her. 

Joshua  tried  to  follow,  but  Aunt  Tabby  held  him 
back.  He  would  have  gone,  too,  if  she  had  not  man 
aged  to  strike  the  spring  and  shut  the  door,  closing 
up  the  passageway. 

Joshua  got  angry  then.  "  You  are  making  a  cow 
ard  of  me,"  he  cried,  beating  on  the  panel  with  the 
butt  of  his  gun  and  struggling  to  open  it. 

He  seemed  unable  to  fathom  the  secret. 

Elaine  was  now  making  her  way  as  rapidly  as  she 
could  through  the  tunnel,  with  Rusty  beside  her. 

It  was  just  as  Long  Sin  had  raised  his  knife  that  the 
sound  of  her  footsteps  alarmed  him. 

He  paused  and  leaped  to  his  feet. 

There  was  no  time  for  either  to  retreat.  He  started 
toward  Elaine,  and  seized  her  roughly. 

Back  and  forth  over  the  rocky  floor  they  struggled. 
As  they  fought, — she  with  frantic  strength,  he  craftily, 


22  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

— he  backed  her  slowly  up  against  the  prop  that  upheld 
the  roof. 

He  raised  his  keen  knife. 

She  recoiled.  The  prop,  none  too  strong,  suddenly 
gave  way  under  her  weight. 

The  whole  roof  of  the  chamber  fell  with  a  crash, 
earth  and  stone  overwhelming  Elaine  and  her  assail 
ant. 

By  this  time  Joshua  had  left  the  house  and  had  gone 
out  into  the  garden  to  get  something  to  pry  open  the 
fireplace  door. 

Of  a  sudden,  to  his  utter  amazement,  a  few  feet 
from  him,  it  seemed  as  if  the  very  earth  sank  in  his 
garden,  leaving  a  yawning  chasm. 

He  looked,  unable  to  make  it  out. 

Before  his  very  eyes  a  strange  figure,  the  figure  of 
Long  Sin  in  his  oxygen  helmet,  appeared,  struggling 
up,  as  if  by  magic  from  the  very  earth,  shaking  the 
debris  off  himself,  as  a  dog  would  shake  off  the  water 
after  a  plunge  in  a  pond. 

Long  Sin  was  gone  in  a  moment. 

Then  again  the  earth  began  to  move.  A  paw  ap 
peared,  then  a  sharp  black  nose,  and  a  moment  later, 
Rusty,  too,  dug  himself  out. 

Joshua  had  run  into  the  house  to  get  a  spade  when 
Rusty,  like  a  shot,  bolted  for  the  house,  took  the  win 
dow  at  a  leap  and  all  covered  with  earth  landed  before 
Joshua  and  Aunt  Tabby. 

"  See ! — he  went  down  there — now  he's  here !  " 
cried  Aunt  Tabby,  pointing  at  the  fireplace,  then  look 
ing  at  the  window. 


THE  SERPENT  SIGN  23 

Rusty  was  running  back  and  forth  from  Joshua  to 
the  window. 

"  Follow  him !  "  cried  Aunt  Tabby. 

Rusty  led  the  way  back  again  to  the  garden,  to  the 
cave-in. 

"  Elaine !  "  gasped  Aunt  Tabby. 

By  this  time  Joshua  was  digging  furiously.  Rusty, 
too,  seemed  to  understand.  He  threw  back  the  earth 
with  his  paws,  helping  with  every  ounce  of  strength  in 
his  little  body. 

At  last  the  spade  turned  up  a  bit  of  cloth. 

"  Elaine !  "  Aunt  Tabby  cried  out  again. 

She  was  in  a  sort  of  little  pocket,  protected  by  the 
fortunate  formation  of  the  earth  as  it  fell,  yet  almosi 
suffocated,  weak  but  conscious. 

Aunt  Tabby  rushed  up  as  Joshua  laid  down  the  spade 
and  lifted  out  Elaine. 

They  were  about  to  carry  her  into  the  house,  when 
she  cried  weakly,  but  with  all  her  remaining  strength. 

"  No — no — Dig !  Craig — Walter !  "  she  managed  to 
gasp. 

Rusty,  too,  was  still  at  it.  Joshua  fell  to  again, 
Man  and  dog  worked  with  a  will. 

"  There  they  are ! "  cried  Elaine,  as  all  three  pulled 
us  out,  unconscious  but  still  alive. 

Though  we  did  not  know  it,  they  carried  us  into  the 
house,  while  Elaine  and  Aunt  Tabby  bustled  about  to 
get  something  to  revive  us. 

At  last  I  opened  my  eyes  and  saw  the  motherly  Aunt 
Tabby  bending  over  me.  Craig  was  already  revived, 
weak  but  ready  now  to  do  anything  Elaine  ordered,  as 
she  held  his  hand  and  stroked  his  forehead  softly. 


24  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 


Meanwhile  Long  Sin  had  made  his  way  to  the  auto 
mobile  where  his  master,  Wu,  waited  impatiently. 

"  Did  you  get  it?  "  asked  Wu  eagerly. 

Long  Sin  showed  him  the  box. 

"  Hurry,  master !  "  he  cried  breathlessly,  leaping  into 
the  car  and  struggling  to  take  off  the  helmet  as  they 
drove  away.  "  They  may  be  here — at  any  moment." 

The  machine  was  off  like  a  shot  and  even  if  we  had 
been  able  to  follow,  wye  could  not  now  have  caught  it. 

Back  in  Wu's  sumptuous  apartment,  later,  Wu  and 
his  slave,  Long  Sin,  after  their  hurried  ride,  dismissed 
all  the  servants  and  placed  the  little  box  on  the  table. 
Wu  rose  and  locked  the  door. 

Then,  together,  they  took  a  sharp  instrument  and 
tried  to  pry  off  the  lid  of  the  box. 

The  lid  flew  off.    They  gazed  in  eagerly. 

Inside  was  a  smaller  box,  which  Wu  seized  eagerly 
and  opened. 

There,  on  the  plush  cushion  lay  merely  a  round 
knobbed  ring ! 

Was  this  the  end  of  their  great  expectations  ?  Were 
Bennett's  millions  merely  mythical? 

The  two  stared  at  each  other  in  chagrin. 

Wu  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"  Where  there  should  have  been  seven  million  dol 
lars,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "  why  is  there  only  a 
mystic  ring  ?  " 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  CRYPTIC   RING 

KENNEDY  had  been  engaged  for  some  time  in  the 
only  work  outside  of  the  Dodge  case  which  he  had  con 
sented  to  take  for  weeks. 

Our  old  friend,  Dr.  Leslie,  the  Coroner,  had  ap 
pealed  to  him  to  solve  a  very  ticklish  point  in  a  Tong 
murder  case  which  had  set  all  Chinatown  agog.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  very  bewildering  case.  A  Chinaman  named 
Li  Chang,  leader  of  the  Chang  Wah  Tong,  had  been 
poisoned,  but  so  far  no  one  had  been  able  to  determine 
wrhat  poison  it  was  or  even  to  prove  that  there  had  been 
a  poison,  except  for  the  fact  that  the  man  was  dead,  and 
Kennedy  had  taken  the  thing  up  in  a  great  measure  be 
cause  of  the  sudden  turn  in  the  Dodge  case  which  had 
brought  us  into  such  close  contact  with  the  Chinese. 

I  had  been  watching  Kennedy  with  interest,  for  the 
Tong  wars  always  make  picturesque  newspaper  stories, 
when  a  knock  at  the  door  announced  the  arrival  of  Dr, 
Leslie,  anxious  for  some  result. 

"  Have  you  been  able  to  find  out  anything  yet?  "  he 
greeted  Kennedy  eagerly  as  Craig  looked  up  from  his 
microscope. 

Kennedy  turned  and  nodded.  "  Your  dead  man  was 
murdered  by  means  of  aconite,  of  which,  you  know, 
the  active  principle  is  the  deadly  alkaloid  aconitine." 

25 


26  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Craig  pulled  down  from  the  shelf  above  him  one  of 
his  well-thumbed  standard  works  on  toxicology.  He 
turned  the  pages  and  read  : 

"  Pure  aconite  is  probably  the  most  actively  poison 
ous  substance  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  It  does 
not  produce  any  decidedly  characteristic  post-mortem 
appearances,  and,  in  fact,  there  is  no  reliable  chemical 
test  to  prove  its  presence.  The  chances  of  its  detection 
in  the  body  after  death  are  very  slight." 

Dr.  Leslie  looked  up.  "  Then  there  is  no  test, 
none  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  There  is  one  that  is  brand  new,"  replied  Kennedy 
slowly.  "  It  is  the  new  starch-grain  test  just  discov 
ered  by  Professor  Reichert,  of  the  University  of  Penn 
sylvania.  The  peculiarities  of  the  starch  grains  of 
various  plants  are  quite  as  great  as  those  of  the  blood 
crystals,  which,  you  will  recall,  Walter,  we  used 
once. 

"  The  starch  grains  of  the  poison  have  remained  in 
the  wound.  I  have  recovered  them  from  the  dead 
man's  blood  and  have  studied  them  microscopically. 
They  can  be  definitely  recognized.  This  is  plainly  a 
case  of  aconite  poisoning — probably  suggested  to  the 
Oriental  mind  by  the  poison  arrows  of  the  Ainus  of 
Northern  Japan." 

Dr.  Leslie  and  I  both  looked  through  the  micro 
scope,  comparing  the  starch  grains  which  Kennedy  had 
discovered  with  those  of  scores  of  micro-photographs 
which  lay  scattered  over  the  table. 

"  There  are  several  treatments  for  aconite  poison 
ing,"  ruminated  Kennedy.  "  I  would  say  that  one  of 
the  latest  and  best  is  digitalin  given  hypodermically." 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  27 

He  took  down  a  bottle  of  digitalin  from  a  cabinet,  add 
ing,  "  only  it  was  too  late  in  this  case." 

Just  what  the  relations  were  between  Long  Sin  and 
the  Chong  Wah  Tong  I  have  never  been  able  to  de 
termine  exactly.  But  one  thing  was  certain:  Long 
Sin  on  his  arrival  in  New  York  had  offended  the  Tong 
and  now  that  his  master,  Wu  Fang,  was  here  the 
offence  was  even  greater,  for  the  criminal  society 
brooked  no  rival. 

In  the  dark  recesses  of  a  poorly  furnished  cellar, 
serving  as  the  Tong  headquarters,  the  new  leader  and 
several  of  his  most  trusted  followers  were  now  plot 
ting  revenge.  Long  Sin,  they  believed,  was  responsi 
ble  for  the  murder,  and,  with  truly  Oriental  guile,  they 
had  obtained  a  hold  over  Wu  Fang's  secretary. 

Their  plan  decided  on,  the  Chinamen  left  the  head 
quarters  and  made  their  way  separately  up-town.  They 
rejoined  one  another  in  the  shelter  of  a  rather  poor 
house,  before  which  was  a  board  fence,  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  fashionable  apartment  house.  A  moment's  con 
ference  followed,  and  then  the  secretary  glided  away. 

Wu  had  taken  another  apartment  up-town  in  one 
of  the  large  apartment  houses  near  a  parkway ;  for  he 
was  far  too  subtle  to  operate  from  his  real  headquar 
ters  back  of  the  squalid  exterior  of  Chinatown. 

There  Long  Sin  was  now  engaged  in  making  all 
possible  provisions  for  the  safety  of  his  master.  Any 
one  who  had  been  walking  along  the  boulevard  and 
had  happened  to  glance  up  at  the  roof  of  the  tall  apart 
ment  building  might  have  seen  Long  Sin's  figure 


28  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

silhouetted  against  the  sky  on  the  top  of  the  mansard 
roof  near  a  flagpole. 

He  had  just  finished  fastening  to  the  flagpole  a 
stout  rope  which  stretched  taut  across  an  areaway 
some  twenty  or  thirty  feet  wide  to  the  next  building, 
where  it  was  fastened  to  a  chimney.  Again  and  again 
he  tested  it,  and  finally  with  a  nod  of  satisfaction  de 
scended  from  the  roof  and  went  to  the  apartment  of 
Wu. 

There,  alone,  he  paused  for  a  few  minutes  to  gaze 
in  wonder  at  the  cryptic  ring  which  had  been  the  net 
result  so  far  of  his  efforts  to  find  the  millions  which 
Bennett,  as  the  Clutching  Hand,  had  hidden.  He 
wore  it,  strangely  enough,  over  his  index  finger,  and 
as  he  examined  it  he  shook  his  head  in  doubt. 

Neither  he  nor  his  master  had  yet  been  able  to 
fathom  the  significance  of  the  ring. 

Long  Sin  thought  that  he  was  unobserved.  But 
outside,  looking  through  the  keyhole,  was  Wu's  sec 
retary,  who  had  stolen  in  on  the  mission  which  had 
been  set  for  him  at  the  Tong  headquarters. 

Long  Sin  went  over  to  a  desk  and  opened  a  secret 
box  in  which  Wu  had  placed  several  packages  of 
money  with  which  to  bribe  those  whom  he  wished  to 
get  into  his  power.  It  was  Long  Sin's  mission  to 
carry  out  this  scheme,  so  he  packed  the  money  into  a 
bag,  drew  his  coat  more  closely  about  him  and  left 
the  room. 

No  sooner  had  he  gone  than  the  secretary  hurried 
into  the  room,  paused  a  moment  to  make  sure  that 
Long  Sin  was  not  coming  back,  then  hurried  over  to 
a  closet  near-by. 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  29 

From  a  secret  hiding-place  he  drew  out  a  small  bow 
and  arrow.  He  sat  down  at  a  table  and  hastily  wrote 
a  few  Chinese  characters  on  a  piece  of  paper,  rolling 
up  the  note  into  a  thin  quill  which  he  inserted  into  a 
prepared  place  in  the  arrow. 

Then  he  raised  the  window  and  deftly  shot  the 
arrow  out. 

Down  the  street,  back  of  the  board  fence,  where  the 
final  conference  has  taken  place,  was  a  rather  sleepy- 
looking  Chinaman,  taking  an  occasional  puff  at  a 
cigarette  doped  with  opium. 

He  jumped  to  his  feet  suddenly.  With  a  thud  an 
arrow  had  buried  itself  quivering  in  the  fence. 
Quickly  he  seized  it,  drew  out  the  note  and  read  it. 

In  the  Canton  vernacular  it  read  briefly :  "  He  goes 
with  much  money." 

It  was  enough.  Instantly  the  startling  news  over 
came  the  effect  of  the  dope,  and  the  Chinaman  shuffled 
off  quickly  to  the  Tong  headquarters. 

They  were  waiting  for  him  there,  and  he  had 
scarcely  delivered  the  message  before  their  plans  were 
made.  One  by  one  they  left  the  headquarters,  hiding 
in  doorways,  basements  and  areaways  along  the  nar 
row  street. 

Long  Sin  was  making  his  rounds,  visiting  all  those 
whom  the  glitter  of  Wu's  money  could  corrupt. 

Suddenly  from  the  shadows  of  a  narrow  street, 
lined  with  the  stores  of  petty  Chinese  merchants,  half 
a  dozen  lithe  and  murderous  figures  leaped  out  behind 
Long  Sin  and  seized  him.  He  struggled,  but  they 
easily  threw  him  down. 


30  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Any  one  who  has  visited  Chinatown  knows  that  at 
every  corner  and  bend  of  the  crooked  streets  stands  a 
policeman.  It  was  scarcely  a  second  before  the  noise 
of  the  scuffle  was  heard,  but  it  was  too  late.  The  half 
dozen  Tong  men  had  seized  the  money  which  Long 
Sin  carried  and  had  deftly  stripped  him  of  everything 
else  of  value. 

The  sound  of  the  approaching  policeman  now 
alarmed  them.  Just  as  the  new  Tong  leader  had  raised 
an  axe  to  bring  it  down  with  crushing  force  on  Long 
Sin's  skull  a  shot  rang  out  and  the  axe  fell  from  the 
broken  wrist  of  the  Chinaman. 

In  another  moment  the  policeman  had  seized  him. 
Then  followed  a  sharp  fight  in  which  the  Tong  men's 
knowledge  of  jiu-jitsu  stood  them  in  good  stead.  The 
policeman  was  hurled  aside,  the  Tong  leader  broke 
away,  and  one  by  one  his  followers  disappeared 
through  dark  hallways  and  alleyways,  leaving  the  po 
liceman  with  only  two  prisoners  and  Long  Sin  lying 
on  the  sidewalk. 

But  the  ring  and  the  money  were  gone. 

"Are  you  hurt  much?"  demanded  the  burly  Irish 
officer,  assisting  Long  Sin  to  his  feet,  none  too  gently. 

Long  Sin  was  furious  over  the  loss  of  the  precious 
ring,  yet  he  knew  to  involve  himself  in  the  white  man's 
law  would  end  only  in  disaster  both  for  him  and  his 
master.  He  forced  a  painful  smile,  shook  his  head 
and  managed  to  get  away  down  the  street  muttering. 

He  made  his  way  up-town  and  back  to  the  apart 
ment  of  Wu,  and  there,  pacing  up  and  down  in  a  fury, 
attended  to  his  wounds. 

His  forefinger,   from  which  the  ring  had  been  so 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  31 

ruthlessly  snatched,  was  a  constant  reminder  to  him 
of  the  loss.  Any  one  who  could  have  studied  the 
venge fulness  of  his  face  would  have  seen  that  it  boded 
ill  for  some  one. 

It  was  the  day  after  her  return  from  Aunt  Tabby's 
that  Kennedy  called  again  upon  Elaine  to  find  that  she 
and  Aunt  Josephine  were  engaged  in  the  pleasant  pas 
time  of  arranging  an  entertainment. 

Jennings  announced  Craig  and  held  back  the  por 
tieres  as  he  entered. 

"  Oh,  good !  "  cried  Elaine  as  she  saw  him.  "  You 
are  just  in  time.  I  was  going  to  send  you  this,  but  I 
should  much  rather  give  it  to  you." 

She  handed  him  a  tastefully  engraved  sheet  of  paper 
which  he  read  with  interest : 

Miss  Elaine  Dodge 

requests  the  honor  of  your  presence 

at  an  Oriental  Reception 

on  April  6th,  at  8  o'clock. 

"  Very  interesting,"  exclaimed  Craig  enthusiasti 
cally.  "  I  shall  be  delighted  to  come." 

He  looked  about  a  moment  at  the  library  which 
Elaine  was  already  rearranging  for  the  entertainment. 

"  Then  you  must  work,"  she  cried  gaily.  "  You  are 
just  in  time  to  help  me  buy  the  decorations.  No  ob 
jections — come  along." 

She  took  Kennedy's  arm  playfully. 

"  But  I  have  a  very  important  investigation  for  the 
Coroner  that  I  am " 


32  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  No  excuses,"  she  cried,  laughingly,  dragging  him 
out. 

Among  the  many  places  which  Elaine  had  down  on 
her  shopping  list  was  a  small  Chinese  curio  shop  on 
lower  Fifth  avenue. 

They  entered  and  were  greeted  with  a  profound 
bow  by  the  proprietor.  He  was  the  new  Tong  leader, 
and  this  up-town  shop  was  his  cover.  In  actual  fact, 
he  was  what  might  have  been  called  a  Chinese  fence 
for  stolen  goods. 

In  their  interest  in  the  wealth  of  strange  and  curi 
ous  ornaments  displayed  in  the  shop  they  did  not  no 
tice  that  the  Chinaman's  wrist  was  bound  tightly  under 
his  flowing  sleeve. 

Elaine  explained  what  it  was  she  wanted,  and  with 
Kennedy's  aid  selected  a  number  of  Chinese  hangings 
and  decorations.  They  were  about  to  leave  the  shop 
when  Elaine's  eye  was  attracted  by  a  little  show  case 
in  which  were  many  quaint  and  valuable  Chinese  orna 
ments  in  gold  and  silver  and  covered  ivory. 

"  What  an  odd  looking  thing,"  she  said,  pointing 
out  a  nobbed  ring  which  reposed  on  the  black  velvet  of 
the  case. 

"  Quite  odd,"  agreed  Kennedy. 

The  subtle  Chinaman  stood  by  the  pile  of  hangings 
on  the  counter  which  Elaine  had  bought,  overjoyed 
at  such  a  large  sale.  Praising  the  ring  to  Elaine,  he 
turned  insinuatingly  to  Kennedy.  There  was  nothing 
else  for  Craig  to  do — he  bought  the  ring,  and  the 
Chinaman  proved  again  his  ability  as  a  me  ••chant. 

From  the  curio  shop  where  Elaine  had  completed 
her  purchases  they  drove  to  Kennedy's  laboratory. 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  33 

I  had  been  at  work  on  a  story  for  the  Star  when  they 
entered. 

"You  will  be  there,  too,  Mr.  Jameson?"  coaxed 
Elaine,  as  she  told  of  their  morning's  work. 

I  needed  no  urging. 

We  were  in  the  midst  of  planning  the  entertainment 
when  a  slight  cough  behind  me  made  me  start  and  turn 
quickly. 

There  stood  Long  Sin,  the  astute  Chinaman  who 
had  delivered  the  bomb  to  Kennedy  and  had  betrayed 
Bennett.  We  had  seen  very  little  of  him  since  then. 

Long  Sin  bowed  low  and  shuffled  over  closer  to 
Kennedy.  I  noticed  that  Elaine  eyed  Long  Sin 
sharply.  But  as  yet  we  had  seen  no  reason  to  suspect 
him,  so  cleverly  had  he  covered  his  tracks.  Kennedy, 
having  used  him  once  to  capture  Bennett,  was  still 
not  unwilling  to  use  him  in  attempting  to  discover 
where  Bennett's  hidden  millions  lay. 

"  I  am  in  great  trouble,  Professor  Kennedy,"  began 
Long  Sin  in  a  low  tone.  "  You  don't  know  the  Chinese 
of  the  city,  but  if  you  did  you  would  know  what  black 
mailers  there  are  among  them.  I  have  refused  to  pay 
blackmail  to  the  Chong  Wah  Tong,  and  since  then  it 
has  been  trouble,  trouble,  trouble." 

Kennedy  looked  up  quickly  at  the  name  Chong  Wah 
Tong,  thinking  of  the  investigation  which  the  Coroner 
had  asked  him  to  make  into  the  murder.  He  and  Long 
Sin  moved  a  few  steps  away,  discussing  the  affair. 

Elaine  and  I  were  still  talking  over  the  entertain 
ment. 

She  happened  to  place  her  hand  on  the  desk  near 
Long  Sin.  My  back  was  toward  him  and  I  did  not 


34  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

see  him  start  suddenly  and  look  at  her  hand.  On  it 
was  the  ring — the  ring  which,  unknown  to  us,  Long 
Sin  had  found  in  the  passageway  under  Aunt  Tabby's 
garden,  of  which  he  had  been  robbed,  and  which  now, 
by  a  strange  chance,  had  come  into  Elaine's  possession. 

It  was  a  peculiar  situation  for  Long  Sin,  although 
as  yet  we  did  not  know  it.  He  could  not  lay  claim  to 
the  mystic  ring,  for  then  Kennedy  would  make  him 
prove  his  ownership,  and  the  whole  affair  of  which 
we  still  knew  nothing  would  be  exposed. 

He  acted  quickly.  Long  Sin  decided  to  recover  the 
ring  by  stealth. 

Elaine  was  still  talking  enthusiastically  about  her 
party,  when  Long  Sin  turned  from  Kennedy  and 
moved  toward  us  with  a  bow. 

"  The  lady  speaks  of  an  Oriental  reception,  he  re 
marked.  "  Would  she  care  to  engage  a  magician?  " 

Elaine  turned  to  him  surprised.  "  Do  you  mean 
that  you  are  a  magician  ?  "  she  asked,  puzzled. 

Long  Sin  smiled  quietly.  He  reached  over  and  took 
a  small  bottle  from  Kennedy's  laboratory  table.  Hold 
ing  it  in  his  hand  almost  directly  before  us,  he  made 
a  few  sleight-of-hand  passes,  and,  presto!  the  bottle 
had  disappeared.  A  few  more  passes,  and  a  test  tube 
appeared  in  its  place.  Before  we  knew  it  he  had  caused 
the  test  tube  to  disappear  and  the  bottle  to  reappear. 
We  all  applauded  enthusiastically. 

"  I  don't  think  that  is  such  a  bad  idea  after  all," 
nodded  Kennedy  to  Elaine. 

"  Perhaps  not,"  she  agreed,  a  little  doubtfully.  "  I 
hadn't  intended  to  have  such  a  thing,  but — why,  of 
course,  that  would  interest  everybody." 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  35 


It  was  the  night  of  the  reception.  The  Dodge 
library  was  transformed.  The  Oriental  hangings 
which  Elaine  and  Kennedy  had  purchased  seemed  to 
breathe  mysticism.  At  the  far  end  of  the  room  a  plat 
form  had  been  arranged  to  form  a  stage  on  which 
Long  Sin  was  to  perform  his  sleight-of-hand.  The 
drawing-room  also  was  decorated  like  the  library. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  room  Elaine  and  Aunt 
Josephine,  in  picturesque  Oriental  costume,  were  greet 
ing  the  guests.  Every  one  seemed  to  be  delighted  with 
the  novelty  of  the  affair. 

We  came  in  just  a  bit  ahead  of  Long  Sin,  and  Elaine 
greeted  us. 

Almost  everybody  had  arrived  when  Elaine  turned 
to  the  guests  and  introduced  Long  Sin  with  a  little 
speech.  Long  Sin  bowed  and  every  one  applauded. 
He  made  his  way  to  the  platform  in  the  library  and 
mounted  it. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  amazing  series 
of  tricks  which  he  performed.  His  hands  and  fingers 
seemed  to  move  like  lightning.  Among  other  things, 
I  remember  he  took  up  a  cover  from  a  table  near-by. 
He  held  it  up  before  us.  Instantly  it  seemed  that  a 
flock  of  pigeons  flew  out  of  it  around  the  room.  How 
he  did  it  I  don't  know.  They  were  real  pigeons,  how 
ever,  and  the  trick  brought  down  the  house. 

Long  Sin  bowed. 

Another  of  his  feats  which  I  recall  was  nothing  less 
than  kindling  a  fire  on  a  small  bit  of  tin  and,  as  the 
flames  mounted,  he  deliberately  stepped  into  them,  ap 
parently  as  unharmed  as  a  salamander. 


36  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

So  it  went  from  one  thing  to  another.  The  enter 
tainment  was  brilliant  in  itself,  but  Long  Sin  seemed 
to  put  the  finishing  touch  to  it.  In  fact,  I  suppose  that 
it  was  a  couple  of  hours  that  he  continued  to  amuse  us. 

He  had  finished  and  every  one  crowded  about  him 
to  congratulate  him  on  his  skill.  His  only  answer, 
however,  was  his  inscrutable  smile. 

"  This  is  wonderful,  wonderful,"  I  repeated  as  I 
happened  to  meet  Elaine  alone.  We  walked  into  the 
conservatory  while  the  guests  were  crowding  around 
Long  Sin.  She  seated  herself  for  the  first  time  during 
the  evening. 

"  May  I  get  you  an  ice?  "  I  suggested. 

She  thanked  me,  and  I  hurried  off.  As  I  passed 
through  the  drawing-room  I  did  not  notice  that  Long 
Sin  had  managed  to  escape  further  congratulations  of 
the  guests.  Just  then  a  waiter  passed  through  with 
ices  on  a  tray.  I  called  to  him  and  he  stopped. 

A  moment  later  Long  Sin  himself  took  an  ice  from 
the  tray  and  retreated  back  of  the  portieres.  No  one 
was  about,  and  he  hastily  drew  a  bottle  from  his 
pocket.  On  the  bottle  was  a  Chinese  label.  He  palmed 
the  bottle,  and  any  one  who  had  chanced  to  see  him 
would  have  noticed  that  he  passed  it  two  or  three  times 
over  the  ice,  then,  lifting  the  portieres,  entered  the 
drawing-room  again. 

He  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  rooms  in  such  a  way 
as  to  bring  himself  out  directly  in  my  path.  With  a 
smile  he  stopped  before  me,  rubbing  both  hands  to 
gether. 

"  It  is  for  Miss  Elaine?  "  he  asked. 

I  nodded. 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  37 

By  this  time  several  of  the  guests  who  were  fasci 
nated  with  Long  Sin  gathered  about  us.  Long  Sin 
fluttered  open  a  Chinese  fan  which  he  had  used  in  his 
tricks,  passed  it  over  my  hand,  and  in  some  incompre 
hensible  way  I  felt  the  plate  with  the  ice  literally  dis 
appear  from  my  grasp.  My  face  must  have  shown  my 
surprise.  A  burst  of  laughter  from  the  other  guests 
greeted  me.  I  looked  at  Long  Sin,  half  angry,  yet 
unable  to  say  anything,  for  the  joke  was  plainly  on  me. 
He  smiled,  made  another  pass  with  the  fan,  and  in 
stantly  the  plate  with  the  ice  was  back  in  my 
hand. 

There  was  nothing  for  me  but  to  take  the  joke  in 
the  spirit  in  which  the  other  guests  had  taken  it.  I 
laughed  with  them  and  managed  to  get  away. 

Meanwhile  Kennedy  had  been  moving  from  one  to 
another  of  the  guests  seeking  Elaine.  He  had  al 
ready  take,,  an  ice  from  the  waiter  and  was  going  in 
the  direction  of  the  conservatory.  There  he  found 
her. 

"Won't  you  take  this  ice?"  he  asked,  handing  it 
to  her. 

"  It  is  very  kind  of  you,"  she  said,  "  but  I  have  al 
ready  sent  Walter  for  one. 

Kennedy  insisted  and  she  took  it. 

She  had  already  started  to  eat  it  when  I  appeared 
in  the  doorway.  I  was  rather  vexed  at  Long  Sin  for 
having  delayed  me,  and  I  mumbled  something  about  it. 

Kennedy  laughed,  rather  pleased  at  having  beaten 
me. 

"  Never  mind,  Walter,"  he  said  with  a  smile,  "  I'll 
take  it.  And  er — I  don't  think  that  Elaine  will  object 


38  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

if  you  play  the  host  for  a  little  while  with  Aunt  Jose 
phine,"  he  hinted. 

I  saw  that  three  was  a  crowd  and  I  turned  to  re 
trace  my  steps  to  the  drawing-room. 

Kennedy,  however,  was  not  alone.  Back  of  the 
palms  in  the  conservatory  two  beady  black  eyes  were 
eagerly  watching.  Long  Sin  had  noted  every  move 
ment  as  his  cleverly  laid  plan  miscarried. 

Chatting  with  animation,  Kennedy  tasted  the  ice. 
He  had  taken  only  a  couple  of  spoonfuls  when  a  look 
of  wonder  and  horror  seemed  to  spread  over  his  face. 

He  rose  quickly.  A  cold  sweat  seemed  to  break 
out  all  over  him.  His  nerves  almost  refused  to  re 
spond.  His  tongue  seemed  to  be  paralyzed  and  the 
muscles  of  his  throat  seemed  to  be  like  steel  bands. 

He  took  only  a  few  steps,  began  to  stagger,  and 
finally  sank  down  on  the  floor. 

Elaine  screamed. 

We  rushed  in  from  the  library  and  drawing-room. 
There  lay  Kennedy  on  the  floor,  his  face  most  terribly 
contorted.  We  gathered  around  him  and  he  tried  to 
raise  himself  and  speak,  but  seemed  unable  to  utter  a 
sound. 

He  had  fallen  near  the  fountain  and  one  hand 
drooped  over  into  the  water.  As  he  fell  back  he  seemed 
to  have  only  just  enough  strength  to  withdraw  his  hand 
from  the  fountain.  On  the  stone  coping,  slowly  and 
laboriously,  he  moved  his  finger. 

"What's  the  matter,  old  man?"  I  asked,  bending 
over  him. 

There  was  no  answer,  but  he  managed  to  turn  his 
head,  and  I  followed  the  direction  of  his  eyes. 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  39 

With  trembling  finger  he  was  tracing  out,  one  by 
one,  some  letters.  I  looked  and  it  flashed  over  me 
what  he  meant.  He  had  written  with  the  water : 

"  Digitalin— lab— " 

I  jumped  up  and  almost  without  a  word  dashed  out 
of  the  conservatory,  down  the  hall  and  into  the  first 
car  waiting  outside. 

"  To  the  laboratory,"  I  directed,  giving  the  driver 
the  directions,  "  and  drive  like  the  deuce !  " 

Fortunately  there  was  no  one  to  stop  us,  and  I  know 
we  broke  all  the  speed  laws  of  New  York.  I  dashed 
into  the  laboratory,  almost  broke  open  the  cabinet, 
and  seized  the  bottle  of  digitalin  and  a  hypodermic 
syringe,  then  rushed  madly  out  again  and  into  the 
car. 

Meanwhile  some  of  the  guests  had  lifted  up  Ken 
nedy,  too  excited  to  notice  Long  Sin  in  his  hiding- 
place.  They  had  laid  Craig  down  on  a  couch  and 
were  endeavoring  to  revive  him.  Some  one  had  al 
ready  sent  for  a  doctor,  but  the  aconite  was  working 
quickly  on  its  victim,  and  he  was  slowly  stiffening  out. 
Elaine  was  frantic. 

I  scarcely  waited  for  the  car  to  stop  in  front  of  the 
house.  I  opened  the  door  and  rushed  in. 

Without  a  word  I  thrust  the  antidote  and  the  syringe 
into  the  hands  of  the  doctor  and  he  went  to  work  im 
mediately.  We  watched  with  anxiety.  Finally  Ken 
nedy's  eyes  opened  and  gradually  his  breathing  seemed 
to  become  more  normal. 

The  antidote  had  been  given  in  time. 

Kennedy  was  considerably  broken  up  by  the  narrow 


40  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

escape  which  he  had  had,  and,  naturally,  even  the  next 
morning,  did  not  feel  like  himself. 

In  the  excitement  of  leaving  Elaine's  we  had  for 
gotten  the  bottle  of  digitalin.  As  for  myself,  I  had 
been  so  overjoyed  at  seeing  my  old  friend  restored  that 
I  would  have  forgotten  anything. 

Kennedy  looked  rather  wan  and  peaked,  but  insisted 
on  going  to  the  laboratory  as  usual. 

"Do  you  remember  what  became  of  the  bottle  of 
digitalin  ?  "  he  asked,  fumbling  in  the  closet. 

Mechanically  I  felt  in  my  own  pockets;  it  was  not 
there.  I  shook  my  head. 

"  I  don't  seem  to  remember  what  became  of  it — 
perhaps  we  left  it  there.  In  fact,  we  must  have  left  it 
there." 

"  I  don't  like  to  have  such  things  lying  around 
loose,"  remarked  Kennedy,  taking  up  his  hat  and  coat 
with  forced  energy.  "  I  think  we  had  better  get  it." 

Elaine  had  spent  rather  a  sleepless  night  after  the 
attempt  to  poison  her  which  had  miscarried  and  re 
sulted  in  poisoning  Kennedy. 

To  keep  her  mind  off  the  thing,  she  had  already 
started  to  take  down  the  decorations.  Jennings  and 
Marie,  as  well  as  a  couple  of  workmen,  were  restoring 
the  library  to  its  normal  condition  under  the  direction 
of  Aunt  Josephine. 

The  telephone  rang  and  Elaine  answered  it.  Her 
face  showed  that  something  startling  had  happened. 

"  It  was  Jameson,"  she  cried,  almost  dropping  the 
receiver,  overcome. 

They  all  hurried  to  her.  "  He  says  that  Mr.  Ken 
nedy  and  he  were  visiting  that  Chinaman  this  morning 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  41 

and  Mr.  Kennedy  suffered  a  relapse — is  dying  there, 
in  the  Chinaman's  apartment.  He  wants  us  to  come 
quickly  and  bring  that  medicine  that  they  used  last 
night.  He  says  it  is  on  the  tabaret  in  the  library. 
Marie,  will  you  look  for  it?  And,  Jennings,  get  the 
car  right  away." 

Jennings  hurried  from  the  room,  and  a  moment  later 
Marie  had  found  the  bottle  behind  some  ornaments 
on  the  tabaret  and  came  back  with  it. 

Scarcely  knowing  what  to  do,  Elaine,  followed  by 
Aunt  Josephine,  had  rushed  from  the  house,  hatless 
and  coatless,  just  as  the  car  swung  around  from  the 
garage  in  the  rear.  Jennings  went  out  with  the  wraps. 
They  seized  them  and  leaped  into  the  car,  which  started 
off  swiftly. 

It  was  only  a  matter  of  minutes  when  they  pulled  up 
before  the  apartment  house  wrhere  Wu  had  taken  the 
suite  from  which  Long  Sin  had  telephoned  the  mes 
sage  in  my  name.  Together  Elaine  and  Aunt  Jose 
phine  hurried  in. 


Kennedy  went  directly  from  the  laboratory  to  the 
Dodge  house. 

I  don't  think  I  ever  saw  such  an  expression  of  sur 
prise  on  anybody's  face  as  that  on  Jennings' s  when  he 
opened  the  door  and  saw  us.  He  was  aghast.  Back 
of  him  we  could  see  Marie.  She  looked  as  if  she  had 
seen  a  ghost. 

"Is  Miss  Elaine  in?"  asked  Kennedy. 

Jennings  was  even  too  dumfounded  to  speak. 

"  Why,  what's  the  matter?  "  demanded  Kennedy. 


42  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

'  Then — er — you  are  not  ill  again?  "  he  managed  to 
blurt  out. 

"  111  again  ?  "  repeated  Kennedy. 

"  Why,"  explained  Jennings,  "  didn't  Mr.  Jameson 
just  now  telephone  that  you  had  had  a  relapse  in  the 
apartment  of  that  Chinaman,  and  for  Miss  Elaine  to 
hurry  over  there  right  away  with  that  bottle  of  medi 
cine?" 

Kennedy  waited  to  hear  no  more.  Seizing  me  by 
the  arm,  he  turned  and  dashed  down  the  steps  and  back 
again  into  the  taxicab  in  which  we  had  come. 

In  Wu's  apartment  Long  Sin  was  giving  his  secre 
tary  and  another  Chinaman  the  most  explicit  instruc 
tions.  As  he  finished  each  nodded  and  showed  him  a 
Chinese  dirk  concealed  under  his  blouse. 

Just  then  a  knock  sounded  at  the  door.  The  secre 
tary  opened  it,  and  Aunt  Josephine  and  Elaine  almost 
ran  in.  Before  they  knew  it,  the  secretary  had  locked 
the  door. 

Long  Sin  rose  and  bowed  with  a  smile. 

"Where  is  Mr.  Kennedy?"  demanded  Elaine. 
Long  Sin  bowed  again,  spreading  out  his  hands,  palm 
outward. 

"  Mr.  Kennedy?     He  is  not  here." 

Then,  straightening  up,  he  faced  the  two  women 
squarely. 

"  You  have  a  ring  that  means  much  to  me,"  he  said 
quickly.  "  The  only  way  to  get  it  from  you  was  to 
bring  you  here." 

He  was  pointing  now  at  the  ring  on  Elaine's  finger. 
She  looked  at  it  a  moment  in  surprise,  then  at  the 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  43 

menacing  Chinaman,  and  turned  quickly.  She  ran  to 
the  door.  It  was  locked. 

Long  Sin,  motionless,  smiled.  "  There  is  no  way 
to  get  out,"  he  murmured. 

Aunt  Josephine  was  standing  now  with  her  back  to 
the  door  leading  into  another  room.  She  happened  to 
look  up  and  saw  the  secretary,  who  was  near  her  and 
half  turned  away.  From  where  she  was  standing 
she  could  see  the  murderous  dirk  up  his  sleeve. 

She  acted  instantly.  Without  a  word  she  summoned 
all  her  strength  and  struck  him.  The  secretary  stum 
bled. 

"  Elaine,"  she  cried,  "look  out!  they  have  knives." 

Before  Elaine  knew  it  Aunt  Josephine  had  taken  her 
by  the  arm,  had  pulled  her  into  the  back  room,  and, 
although  Long  Sin  and  the  others  had  rushed  forward, 
managed  to  slam  the  door  and  lock  it. 

The  Chinamen  set  to  work  immediately  to  pry  it 
open. 

While  they  were  at  work  on  the  door,  which  was 
already  swaying,  Aunt  Josephine  and  Elaine  were  run 
ning  about,  trying  to  find  an  outlet  from  the  room. 

There  seemed  to  be  no  way  out.  Even  the  windows 
were  locked. 

"  I  don't  know  why  they  want  the  ring,"  whispered 
Aunt  Josephine,  "  but  they  won't  get  it.  Give  it  to  me, 
Elaine." 

She  almost  seized  the  ring,  hiding  it  in  her  waist. 
As  she  did  so  the  door  burs  open  and  Wu,  Long  Sin 
and  the  other  Chinamen  rushed  in. 

A  second  later  they  seized  Elaine  and  Aunt  Jose 
phine. 


44  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 


Kennedy  and  I  dashed  up  before  the  apartment 
house  in  which  we  knew  that  Long  Sin  lived,  leaped 
out  of  the  car  and  hurried  in. 

It  was  on  the  second  floor,  and  we  did  not  wait  for 
the  elevator  but  took  the  steps  two  at  a  time.  Ken 
nedy  found  the  door  locked.  Instantly  he  whipped 
out  his  revolver  and  shot  the  lock  in  pieces.  We  threw 
ourselves  against  the  door,  the  broken  lock  gave  way 
and  we  rushed  in  through  the  front  room. 

No  one  was  there,  but  in  a  back  room  we  could  hear 
sounds.  It  was  Elaine  and  Aunt  Josephine  struggling 
with  the  Chinamen.  Long  Sin  and  the  others  had 
seized  Elaine  and  Aunt  Josephine  was  trying  to  help 
her  just  as  we  rushed  in.  With  a  blow  Kennedy 
knocked  out  the  secretary,  while  I  struggled  with  the 
other  Chinamen  who  blocked  the  way. 

Then  Kennedy  went  directly  at  Long  Sin.  They 
struggled  furiously. 

Long  Sin,  with  his  wonderful  knowledge  of  jiu- 
jitsu,  might  not  have  been  a  match  for  six  other  China 
men,  but  he  was  for  one  white  man.  With  a  mighty 
effort  he  threw  Kennedy,  rushed  for  the  door  and,  as 
he  passed  through  the  outside  room,  seized  a  Tong  axe 
from  the  wall. 

Afraid  of  the  wonderful  jiu-jitsu,  I  had  picked  up 
the  first  thing  handy,  which  was  a  tabaret.  I  literally 
broke  it  over  the  head  of  my  Chinaman,  then  turned 
and  dashed  out  after  Long  Sin  just  as  Kennedy  picked 
himself  up  and  followed. 

I  caught  up  with  the  Chinaman  and  we  had  a  little 
struggle,  but  he  managed  to  break  away  and  raised 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  45 

his  axe  threateningly.  A  shout  from  Kennedy  caused 
him  to  turn  and  run  down  the  flight  of  stairs,  Ken 
nedy  closely  behind  him. 

In  the  main  hall  of  the  apartment  house  were  two 
elevator  shafts  facing  the  street  entrance,  some  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  feet  away.  Through  the  street  door  the 
janitor  and  two  or  three  other  men  were  running  in. 
They  had  heard  the  noise  of  the  righting  above. 

Escape  to  the  street  was  cut  off.  We  were  behind 
him  on  the  flight  of  stairs. 

Long  Sin  did  not  hesitate  a  moment.  He  ran  to 
the  elevator,  the  door  of  which  was  open,  seized  the 
elevator  boy  and  sent  him  sprawling  on  the  marble 
floor.  Then  he  slammed  the  door  and  the  elevator 
shot  up. 

Kennedy  was  only  a  few  feet  behind,  and  he  took  in 
the  situation  at  a  glance.  He  leaped  into  the  other 
elevator,  and  before  the  surprised  boy  could  interfere 
shot  it  up  only  a  few  feet  behind  Long  Sin. 

Up  the  two  elevators  rose,  Kennedy  firing  as  best 
he  could  at  Long  Sin,  while  the  shots  reverberated 
through  the  elevator  shaft  like  cannon. 

It  was  a  wild  race  to  the  roof.  Long  Sin  had  the 
start,  and  as  the  elevator  reached  the  top  floor  he  flung 
it  open,  dashed  out  and  through  a  door  up  to  the  roof 
itself. 

A  second  later  Kennedy's  elevator  stopped.  Craig 
leaped  out  and  fired  his  last  shot  at  the  legs  of  Long 
Sin  as  he  disappeared  at  the  top  of  the  flight  of  stairs 
to  the  roof.  He  flung  the  revolver  from  him  and  fol 
lowed. 

Without  a  moment's  hesitation  Kennedy  threw  him- 


46  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

self  at  Long  Sin.  They  struggled  with  each  other, 
Finally  Long  Sin  managed  to  wrench  one  arm  lose  and 
raise  the  Tong  axe  over  Kennedy's  head. 

Kennedy  dodged  back.  As  he  did  so  he  tripped  on 
the  very  edge  of  the  roof  and  went  sliding  down  the 
slates  of  the  mansard. 

Fortunately  he  was  able  to  catch  himself  in  the 
gutter. 

It  was  the  opportunity  that  Long  Sin  wanted.  He 
started  across  the  rope,  which  he  had  stretched  from 
this  apartment  house  to  the  building  across  the  court, 
with  all  the  deftness  of  the  most  expert  Chinese  acro 
bat. 

By  this  time  I  had  reached  the  roof,  followed  by  the 
janitor  and  the  elevator  boys. 

Kennedy  was  now  crawling  up  the  mansard,  helping 
himself  as  best  he  could  by  some  of  the  ornamental 
ironwork.  I  hurried  over  with  the  janitor,  and  to 
gether  we  pulled  him  out  of  danger. 

Long  Sin  had  reached  the  roof  on  the  opposite  side 
as  we  ran  across  in  the  direction  of  the  taut  rope. 

A  moment  later  he  returned  and  bowed  at  us  mock 
ingly,  then  disappeared  behind  a  skylight. 

Kennedy  did  not  stop  an  instant. 

"  You  fellows  go  down  to  the  street  and  see  if  you 
can  head  him  off  that  way,"  he  cried.  "  Stay  here, 
Walter." 

Before  I  knew  it  he  had  seized  the  rope  and  was 
going  across  to  the  other  building,  hand  over  hand. 
It  was  a  perilous  undertaking,  but  his  blood  was  up. 

Kennedy  had  almost  reached  the  other  roof  when 
suddenly  from  behind  the  skylight  stepped  Long  Sin. 


THE  CRYPTIC  RING  47 

With  a  wicked  leer,  he  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the 
roof,  his  axe  upraised.  I  looked  across  the  yawning 
chasm,  horrified. 

Slowly  Long  Sin  raised  the  axe  above  his  head, 
gathering  all  the  strength  which  he  had,  waiting  for 
Kennedy  to  approach  closer.  Kennedy  stopped. 
Swiftly  the  axe  descended,  slashing  the  rope  at  one 
blow. 

Like  the  weight  of  a  pendulum  Kennedy  swung  back 
against  our  own  building,  managing  to  keep  his  hold 
on  the  rope  with  superhuman  strength. 

I  bent  far  over  the  edge  of  the  roof,  fully  expecting 
to  see  him  dashed  to  pieces  at  the  bottom  of  the  court. 

There  was  a  tremendous  shattering  of  glass. 

The  rope  had  been  just  long  enough  to  make  him 
strike  a  window  and  he  had  gone  crashing  through  the 
glass  three  floors  below. 

I  dashed  down  the  stairs  and  into  the  apartment. 
Kennedy  was  lying  on  the  floor  badly  cut.  I  raised 
him  up.  He  was  dazed  and  considerably  overcome; 
but  as  he  staggered  to  his  feet  with  my  help  I  saw  that 
no  bones  were  broken. 

"  Help  me,  quick,  Walter,"  he  urged,  moving  toward 
the  elevators. 

Meanwhile  Long  Sin  had  quickly  dived  down  into 
the  next  building.  A  few  moments  later  he  had  come 
out  on  the  ground  floor  at  the  rear. 

Gazing  about  to  see  whether  he  was  followed,  he 
disappeared. 

Back  in  the  apartment,  Elaine  and  Aunt  Josephine 
were  just  about  to  run  out  when  the  two  Chinamen. 


48  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

who  had  been  knocked  out  recovered.  One  of  them 
threw  himself  on  Elaine.  Aunt  Josephine  tried  to 
ward  him  off,  but  the  other  one  struck  her  and  threw 
her  down. 

Before  she  could  recover  they  had  seized  Elaine. 

With  a  hasty  guttural  exclamation  they  picked  her 
up  and  ran  out.  Instead  of  going  down-stairs  they 
crossed  the  hallway,  slamming  the  door  behind  them. 

As  Kennedy  and  I  reached  the  ground  floor  we  saw 
the  janitor  and  one  of  the  elevator  boys  on  either  side 
of  Aunt  Josephine. 

"  Elaine!    Elaine!  "  she  cried. 

"What's  the  matter?"  demanded  Kennedy,  lean 
ing  heavily  on  me. 

"  They  have  kidnapped  her,"  cried  Aunt  Josephine. 

Kennedy  pulled  himself  together. 

"  Tell  me,  quick — how  did  it  happen?  *'  he  demanded 
of  Aunt  Josephine. 

"  It  was  the  ring,"  she  cried,  handing  it  to  him. 

Kennedy  took  the  ring  and  looked  at  it  for  a  mo 
ment.  Then  he  turned  to  us  blankly. 

All  the  rooms  were  empty. 

Elaine  had  been  spirited  away. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  WATCHING  EYE 

NOT  a  clue  was  left  by  the  kidnappers  when  they  so 
mysteriously  spirited  Elaine  away  from  the  apartment 
of  Wu  Fang.  She  had  disappeared  as  completely  as 
if  she  had  vanished  into  the  thin  air. 

Kennedy  was  frantic.  Wu  and  Long  Sin  themselves 
seemed  to  have  vanished,  too.  Where  they  held  her, 
what  had  happened  to  her  was  a  sealed  book.  And 
yet,  no  move  of  ours  was  made,  no  matter  how  secret, 
that  it  did  not  seem  to  be  known  to  them.  It  was  as 
though  a  weird,  uncanny  eye  glared  at  us,  watching 
everything. 

Craig  neglected  no  possibility  in  his  eager  search. 
He  even  visited  the  little  house  in  the  country  which 
Elaine  had  given  to  Aunt  Tabby,  and  spent  several 
hours  examining  the  collapsed  subterranean  chamber  in 
the  vain  hope  that  it  might  yield  a  clue.  But  it  had 
not. 

It  was  half  filled  with  debris  from  above,  where  the 
pillar  had  given  way  that  night  when  we  had  all  so 
nearly  lost  our  lives.  Still,  there  was  enough  room 
in  what  remained  of  the  cavern  so  that  we  could  move 
about. 

Kennedy  had  even  dug  away  some  of  the  earth  and 
rock,  in  the  hope  of  discovering  some  trace  of  the 

49 


50  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

strange  visitor  whom  we  had  surprised  at  work.  But 
here,  also,  he  had  found  nothing. 

It  was  maddening.  What  might  at  any  moment  be 
happening  to  Elaine — and  he  powerless  to  help  her  ? 

Unescapably,  he  was  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
not  only  Elaine's  amazing  disappearance,  but  the  tragic 
succession  of  events  which  had  preceded  it,  had  been 
caused,  in  some  way,  by  the  curiously  engraved  ring 
which  Aunt  Josephine  had  taken  from  Elaine. 

Craig  had  taken  possession  of  the  mystic  ring  him 
self,  and  now,  forced  back  on  this  sole  clue,  it  had  oc 
curred  to  him  that  if  the  ring  were  so  valuable,  other 
attempts  would,  without  doubt,  be  made  to  get  posses 
sion  of  it. 

I  came  into  the  laboratory,  one  afternoon,  to  find 
Kennedy  surrounded  by  jeweler's  tools,  hard  at  work 
making  an  exact  copy  of  the  ring. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  it,  Walter?  "  he  asked,  hold 
ing  up  the  replica. 

"  Perfect,"  I  replied,  admiringly.  "  What  are  you 
going  to  do  with  it  ?  " 

"  I  can't  say — yet,"  answered  Kennedy,  forlornly, 
"  but  if  I  understand  these  Chinese  criminals  at  all,  I 
know  that  the  only  way  we  can  ever  track  them  is 
through  some  trick.  Perhaps  the  replica  will  suggest 
something  to  us  later." 

He  placed  the  copy  in  a  velvet-lined  box  closely  re 
sembling  that  in  which  the  real  ring  lay,  and  dropped 
both  into  his  pocket. 

"  Let's  see  if  Aunt  Josephine  has  received  any 
word,"  he  remarked  abruptly,  putting  on  his  hat  and 
coat,  and  nodding  to  me  to  follow. 


THE  WATCHING  EYE 


Kennedy  and  I  were  not  the  only  visitors  to  the  sub 
terranean  chamber  where  it  had  seemed  that  the  clue 
to  the  Clutching  Hand's  millions  might  be  found. 

It  was  as  though  that  hidden,  watching  eye  followed 
us.  The  night  after  our  own  unsuccessful  search,  Wu 
Fang,  accompanied  by  Long  Sin,  made  his  way  into 
the  cavern. 

As  they  flashed  their  electric  bull's-eyes  about  the 
place,  they  could  see  readily  that  we  had  already  been 
digging  there. 

Wu  examined  the  safe  which  had  been  broken  into, 
while  Long  Sin  repeated  his  experiences  there. 

"And  you  say  there  was  nothing  else  in  it?"  de 
manded  Wu. 

"  Nothing  but  the  ring  which  they  got  from  me," 
replied  Long  Sin,  ruefully. 

"  Strange — very  strange,"  ruminated  Wu,  still  re 
garding  the  empty  strong  box. 

Long  Sin  was  now  going  over  the  walls  of  the  cav 
ern  minutely,  his  close-set,  beady  black  eyes  examining 
every  square  inch  of  it. 

A  sudden  low  guttural  exclamation  caused  Wu  to 
turn  to  him  quickly.  Long  Sin  had  discovered,  back  of 
the  debris,  a  small  oblong  slot,  cut  into  the  rock. 
Above  ft  were  some  peculiar  marks. 

\Vu  hurried  over  to  his  henchman,  and  together  they 
tried  to  decipher  what  had  been  scratched  on  the 
rock. 

As  Long  Sin's  slender  and  sinister  forefinger  traced 
over  the  inscription,  Wu  suddenly  caught  him  by  the 
elbow . 


52  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  The  ring!  "  he  cried,  as  at  last  he  interpreted  the 
meaning  of  the  cryptic  characters. 

But  what  about  the  ring  ?  For  a  moment  Wu  looked 
at  the  slot  in  deep  thought.  Then  he  reached  down 
and  withdrew  a  ring  from  his  own  ringer  and  dropped 
it  through  the  slot. 

They  listened  a  moment.  They  could  hear  the  ring 
tinkle  as  though  it  were  running  down  some  sort  of 
track-like  declivity  inside  the  rock.  Then,  faintly,  they 
could  hear  it  drop.  It  had  fallen  into  a  little  cup  of  a 
compartment  below  at  their  feet. 

Nothing  happened.  Wu  recovered  his  ring.  But 
he  had  hit  at  last  upon  the  Clutching  Hand's  se 
cret! 

Bennett  had  devised  a  ring-lock  which  would  open 
the  treasure  vault.  No  other  ring  except  the  one  which 
he  had  so  carefully  hidden  was  of  the  size  or  weight 
that  would  move  the  lever  which  would  set  the  ma 
chinery  working  to  open  the  treasure  house. 

Again  Wu  tried  another  of  his  own  rings,  and  a 
third  time  Long  Sin  dropped  in  a  ring  from  his  finger. 
Still  there  was  no  result. 

"  The  ring  which  we  lost  is  the  key  to  the  puzzle — 
the  only  key,"  exclaimed  Wu  Fang  finally.  "  We  must 
recover  it  at  all  hazard." 

To  his  subtle  mind  a  plan  of  action  seemed  to  un 
fold  almost  instantly.  "  There  is  no  good  remaining 
here,"  he  added.  "  And  we  have  gained  nothing  by 
the  capture  of  the  girl,  unless  we  can  use  her  to  re 
cover  the  ring." 

Long  Sin  followed  his  master  with  a  sort  of  intui 
tion.  "If  we  have  to  steal  it,"  he  suggested  deferen- 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  53 

tially,  "  it  can  be  accomplished  best  by  making  use  of 
Chong  Wah  Tong." 

The  Tong  was  the  criminal  band  which  they  had 
offended,  which  had  in  fact  stolen  the  ring  from  Long 
Sin  and  sold  it  to  Elaine.  Yet  in  a  game  such  as  this 
enmity  could  not  last  when  it  was  mutually  disad 
vantageous.  Wu  took  the  suggestion.  He  decided  in 
stantly  to  make  peace  with  his  enemies — and  use  them. 

Later  that  night,  in  his  car,  Wu  stopped  near  the 
little  curio  shop  kept  by  the  new  Tong  leader. 

Long  Sin  alighted  and  entered  the  shop,  while  the 
Tong  man  eyed  him  suspiciously. 

"  My  master  has  come  to  make  peace,"  he  began, 
saluting  the  Tong  leader  behind  the  counter. 

Nothing,  in  reality,  could  have  pleased  the  Tong 
men  more,  for  in  their  hearts  they  feared  the  master- 
like  subtlety  of  Wu  Fang.  The  conference  was  short 
and  Long  Sin  with  a  bow  left  quickly  to  rejoin  Wu, 
while  the  Tong  leader  disappeared  into  a  back  room 
of  the  shop  where  several  of  the  inner  circle  sat. 

"  All  is  well,  master,"  reported  Long  Sin  when  he 
had  made  his  way  back  to  the  car  around  the  corner 
in  which  Wu  was  waiting. 

Wu  smiled  and  a  moment  later  followed  by  his  slave 
in  crime  entered  the  curio  shop  and  passed  through 
with  great  dignity  into  the  room  in  the  rear. 

As  the  two  entered,  the  Tong  men  bowed  with  great 
respect. 

"  Let  us  be  enemies  no  more,"  began  Wu  briefly. 
"  Let  us  rather  help  each  other  as  brothers." 

He  extended  his  right  hand,  palm  down,  as  he  spoke. 
For  a  moment  the  Tong  leader  parleyed  with  the 


54  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

others,  then  stepped  forward  and  laid  his  own  hand, 
palm  down,  over  that  of  Wu.  One  by  one  the  others 
did  the  same,  including  Long  Sin,  the  aggrieved. 

Peace  was  restored. 

Wu  had  risen  to  go,  and  the  Tong  men  were  bowing 
a  respectful  farewell.  He  turned  and  saw  a  large 
vase.  For  a  moment  he  paused  before  it.  It  was  an 
enormous  affair  and  was  apparently  composed  of  a 
mosaic  of  rare  Chinese  enamels,  cunningly  put  to 
gether  by  the  deft  and  patient  ringers  of  the  oriental 
craftsmen.  Extending  from  the  widely  curving  bowl 
below  was  an  extremely  long,  narrow,  tapering  neck. 

Wu  looked  at  it  intently;  then  an  idea  seemed  to 
strike  him.  He  called  the  Tong  leader  and  the  others 
about  him. 

Quickly  he  outlined  the  details  of  a  plan. 

"Have  you  received  any  word  yet?"  asked  Aunt 
Josephine  anxiously,  when  Jennings  had  ushered  us 
into  the  Dodge  library. 

Kennedy  shook  his  head  sadly.  There  was  no  need 
to  repeat  the  question  to  Aunt  Josephine.  The  tears  in 
her  eyes  told  only  too  plainly  that  she  herself  had 
heard  nothing,  either. 

Craig  bent  over  and  placed  his  hand  on  her  shoulder. 
For  the  moment,  none  of  us  could  control  our  emo 
tions. 

A  few  minutes  later,  Jennings  entered  the  room 
softly  again.  "  The  expressmen  are  outside,  ma'am, 
with  a  large  package,"  he  said. 

"  A  package?  "  inquired  Aunt  Josephine,  looking  up, 
surorised.  "For  me — are  you  sure?" 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  55 

Jennings  bowed  and  repeated  his  remark.  Aunt 
Josephine  followed  him  out  into  the  hall. 

There,  already,  the  delivery  men  had  set  down  a 
huge  oriental  vase  with  a  remarkably  long  and  narrow 
neck.  It  was,  as  befitted  st  i.  a  really  beautiful  ob 
ject  of  art,  most  carefully  crated.  But  to  Aunt  Joseph 
ine  it  came  as  a  complete  surprise.  "  I  can't  imagine 
who  could  have  sent  it,"  she  temporized.  "  Are  you 
quite  sure  it  is  for  me?  " 

The  expressman,  with  a  book,  looked  up  from  the 
list  of  names  down  which  he  was  running  his  finger. 
"This  is  Mrs.  Dodge,  isn't  it?"  he  asked,  pointing 
with  his  pencil  to  the  entry  with  the  address  following 
it.  There  seemed  to  be  no  name  of  a  shipper. 

"  Yes,"  she  replied  dubiously,  "  but  I  don't  under 
stand  it.  Wait  just  a  moment." 

She  went  to  the  library  door.  "  Mr  Kennedy,"  she 
said,  "  may  I  trouble  you  and  Mr.  Jameson  a  mo 
ment?" 

We  followed  her  into  the  hall  and  there  stood  gazing 
at  the  mysterious  gift  while  she  related  its  recent  his 
tory. 

"Why  not  set  it  up  in  the  library?"  I  suggested, 
seeing  that  the  expressmen  were  getting  restive  at  the 
delay.  "If  there  is  any  mistake,  they  will  send  for  it 
soon.  No  one  ever  gets  anything  for  nothing." 

Aunt  Josephine  turned  to  the  expressmen  and 
nodded.  With  the  aid  of  Jennings  they  carried  the 
vase  into  the  library  and  there  it  was  uncrated,  while 
Kennedy  continued  to  question  the  man  with  the  book, 
without  eliciting  any  further  information  than  that  he 
thought  it  had  been  reconsigned  from  another  express 


56  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

company.  He  knew  nothing  more  than  that  it  had 
been  placed  on  his  wagon,  properly  marked  and  pre 
paid. 

When  Kennedy  rejoined  us,  the  vase  had  been  com 
pletely  tmcrated,  Aunt  ^jsephine  signed  for  it,  and, 
grumbling  a  bit,  the  expressmen  left.  There  we  stood, 
nonplussed  by  the  curious  gift. 

Craig  walked  around  the  vase,  looking  at  it  criti 
cally.  I  had  a  feeling  of  being  watched,  one  of  those 
sensations  which  psychologists  tell  us  are  utterly  base 
less  and  unfounded.  I  was  glad  I  had  not  said  any 
thing  about  it  when  he  tapped  the  vase  with  his  cane, 
then  stuck  it  down  the  long  narrow  neck,  working  it 
around  as  well  as  he  could..  The  neck  was  so  long 
and  narrow,  however,  that  his  stick  could  not  fully 
explore  the  inside  of  the  vase,  but  it  seemed  to  me  to 
be  quite  empty. 

"  Well,  there's  nothing  in  it,  anyhow,"  I  ventured. 

I  had  spoken  too  soon.  Kennedy  withdrew  his  cane 
and  on  the  ferrule,  adhering  as  though  by  some  sticky 
substance,  was  a  note.  Kennedy  pulled  it  off  and  un 
folded  it,  while  we  gathered  about  him. 

"  Maybe  it's  from  Elaine,"  cried  Aunt  Josephine, 
grasping  at  a  straw. 

We  read : 

DEAR  AUNT  JOSEPHINE, 

This  is  a  token  that  I  am  unharmed.  Have  Mr. 
Kennedy  give  the  ring  to  the  man  at  the  corner  of 
Williams  and  Brownlee  Avenues  at  midnight  to-night, 
and  they  will  surrender  me  to  him. — ELAINE. 

P.  S.  Have  him  come  alone  or  my  life  will  be  in 
danger. 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  57 

We  looked  at  each  other  in  amazement. 

"  I  thought  something  like  this  would  happen,"  re 
marked  Craig  at  length. 

"  Oh,"  cried  Aunt  Josephine,  "  it's  too  good  to  be 
true." 

"  We'll  do  it,"  exclaimed  Kennedy  quickly,  "  only 
this  is  the  ring  that  we'll  give  them." 

He  drew  from  his  pocket  the  replica  of  the  ring 
which  he  had  made  and  showed  it  to  Aunt  Josephine. 
Then  he  drew  from  another  pocket  the  real  ring,  re 
placing  the  replica. 

"Here's  the  real  one,"  he  said  in  a  low  tone. 
"  Guard  it  as  you  would  guard  your  life." 

She  took  the  ring,  almost  fearfully.  It  seemed  as  if 
nothing  but  misfortune  had  followed  it.  Still,  she  real 
ized  that  it  was  necessary  that  she  should  take  care  of 
it,  if  the  plan  was  to  work. 

"  And,  oh,  Mr.  Kennedy,"  she  implored,  as  we  rose 
to  go,  "  please  get  back  my  little  girl  for  me." 

Craig  clasped  her  hand.  "  I'll  try  my  best,"  he  re 
plied  fervently,  patting  her  shoulder  to  cheer  her  up, 
as  she  sank  into  a  chair. 

Aunt  Josephine  was  worn  out  with  the  sleepless 
nights  of  worry  since  Elaine's  disappearance.  After 
we  had  gone,  she  tried  to  eat  dinner,  but  found  that 
she  had  no  appetite. 

All  the  evening  she  sat  in  the  library,  with  a  book  at 
which  she  stared,  though  she  scarcely  read  a  page. 
However,  as  the  hours  lengthened,  she  found  herself 
nodding  through  sheer  exhaustion. 

It  was  getting  late  and  her  thoughts  were  still  on 
Elaine.  At  the  desk  in  the  library,  she  was  examining 


58  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

the  curious  ring,  which  she  had  taken  from  her  jewel 
case,  thinking  of  the  terrible  train  of  events  that  had 
followed  it. 

Although  she  had  intended  to  sit  up  until  she  re 
ceived  some  word  from  Kennedy  that  night,  the  long 
strain  had  told  on  her  and  in  spite  of  her  worry  about 
Elaine,  she  decided,  at  length,  to  retire.  She  replaced 
the  ring  in  the  case,  locked  the  case,  and  turned  out 
the  lights. 

"  Good  night,  Jennings,"  she  said,  as  she  passed  the 
faithful  old  butler  in  the  hall. 

"  Good  night,  ma'am,"  he  replied,  pausing  on  his 
rounds  to  see  that  the  doors  and  windows  were 
locked. 

Aunt  Josephine,  clasping  the  jewel  case  tightly, 
mounted  the  stairs  and  entered  her  room.  She  locked 
the  door  carefully  and  put  the  jewelry  case  under  her 
pillow.  Then  she  switched  off  the  light. 

The  moment  Jennings's  footsteps  ceased  down-stairs 
in  the  library,  a  small  piece  of  the  vase  seemed  to  break 
away  from  the  rest  of  the  mosaic,  as  though  it  were 
knocked  out  from  the  inside.  Then  a  large  piece  fell 
out,  and  another. 

At  last  from  the  strange  hiding-place  a  lithe  figure, 
as  shiny  as  though  bathed  in  oil,  naked  except  for  a 
loin-cloth,  seemed  to  squirm  forth  like  a  serpent.  It 
was  Wu  Fang — the  watchful  eye  which,  literally  as 
well  as  figuratively,  had  been  leveled  at  us  in  one  form 
or  another  ever  since  the  kidnapping  of  Elaine. 

Silently  he  tiptoed  to  the  doorway  and  listened. 
There  was  not  a  sound.  Just  as  noiselessly  then  he 
went  back  to  the  librarv  taWe  and.  muffling  the  tele- 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  59 

phone  bell,  took  down  the  receiver.  He  whispered  a 
number,  waited,  then  whispered  some  directions. 

A  moment  later  he  wormed  his  way  out  of  the  li 
brary  and  into  the  drawing-room.  On  he  went  cau 
tiously,  snake-like,  up  the  stairs  until  he  came  to  the 
door  of  Aunt  Josephine's  room. 

He  bent  down  and  listened.  There  was  no  sound 
except  Aunt  Josephine's  breathing.  Silently  he  drew 
from  a  fold  in  the  loin-cloth  a  screwdriver  and  re 
moved  the  screws  from  the  hinges  of  the  door.  Quietly 
he  pushed  the  bedroom  door  open,  pivoting  it  on  the 
lock,  just  far  enough  open  so  that  he  could  slip  through. 

Creeping  along  the  floor,  like  a  reptile  whose  sign  he 
had  assumed,  he  came  nearer  and  nearer  Aunt  Joseph 
ine's  bed.  As  he  paused  for  a  moment  his  quick 
eye  seemed  to  catch  sight  of  the  bulging  lump  under 
her  pillow.  His  long  thin  hand  reached  out  for  it. 

Aunt  Josephine  moved  restlessly  in  her  sleep.  In 
stantly  he  seized  a  murderous-looking  Chinese  dirk 
fastened  to  his  side  and  raised  it  above  her  head  ready 
to  strike  on  the  slightest  outcry.  She  moved  slightly, 
and  relapsed  into  sound  sleep  again. 

Holding  the  knife  above  her,  Wu  slowly  and  quietly 
removed  the  jewel-case  from  under  her  pillow. 

In  a  country  road-house  Long  Sin  was  waiting  pa 
tiently.  The  telephone  rang  and  the  proprietor  an 
swered.  Long  Sin  was  at  his  side  almost  before  he 
could  hand  over  the  receiver.  It  was  Long  Sin's  mas 
ter,  Wu. 

"  Beware,"  came  the  whispered  message  over  the 
wire.  "  Kennedy  has  made  a  false  ring.  I'll  get  the 


60  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

real  one.  By  the  great  Devil  of  Gobi,  you  must  cut 
him  off." 

"  It  is  done,"  returned  Long  Sin,  hanging  up  the 
receiver  in  great  excitement. 

He  hurried  out  of  the  room  and  left  the  road-house. 
Down  the  road  in  an  automobile,  bound  between  two 
Chinamen,  one  at  her  head  and  the  other  at  her  feet, 
was  Elaine,  wrapped  around  in  blankets,  not  even  her 
face  visible.  The  guards  looked  up  startled  as  Long 
Sin  streaked  out  ot  the  shadow  to  the  car. 

"  Quick !  "  he  ordered.  "  The  master  will  get  the 
ring  himself.  I  will  take  care  of  Kennedy." 

An  instant  and  they  were  gone,  while  Long  Sin  slunk 
back  into  the  shadows  from  which  he  had  come. 

Through  the  underbrush  the  wily  Chinaman  made 
his  way  to  an  old  barn,  which  stood  back  some  dis 
tance  from  the  road,  and  entered  ..the  front  door. 
There  was  another  door  in  the  rear,  and  one  quite  large 
window. 

In  the  dim  light  of  a  lantern  hanging  from  a  rafter 
could  be  seen  several  large  barrels  in  a  corner.  With 
out  a  moment's  hesitation,  Long  Sin  seized  a  bucket 
and  placed  it  under  the  spiggot  of  one  of  the  barrels. 
The  liquid  poured  forth  into  the  bucket  and  he  emptied 
the  contents  on  the  floor,  rilling  the  bucket  again  and 
again  and  swinging  it  right  and  left  in  every  direction 
until  the  barrel  had  finally  run  dry. 

Then  he  moved  over  to  the  window,  which  he  ex 
amined  carefully.  Satisfied  with  what  he  had  done,  he 
drew  a  slip  of  paper  from  his  pocket  and  hastily  wrote 
a  note,  resting  the  paper  on  an  old  box.  When  he  had 
finished  writing,  he  folded  up  the  note  and  thrust  it 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  61 

into  a  little  hollow  carved  Chinese  figure  which  he  took 
also  from  his  pocket. 

These  were,  apparently,  his  emergency  preparations 
which  he  was  ready  to  execute  in  case  he  received  such 
a  message  from  his  master  as  he  had  actually  received. 

With  a  final  hasty  glance  about  he  extinguished  the 
lantern,  letting  the  moonlight  stream  fitfully  through 
the  single  window.  Then  he  left  the  barn,  with  both 
front  and  rear  doors  open. 

Taking  advantage  of  every  bit  of  shelter,  he  made 
his  way  across  the  field  in  the  direction  of  the  cross 
roads,  finally  dropping  down  behind  a  huge  rock  some 
yards  from  the  finger  post  that  pointed  each  way  to 
Williams  and  Brownlee  Avenues. 


Late  that  night,  Kennedy  left  his  apartment  pre 
pared  to  follow  the  instructions  in  the  note  which  had 
been  so  strangely  delivered  in  the  vase. 

As  he  climbed  into  a  roadster,  he  tucked  the  robe 
most  carefully  into  a  corner  under  the  leather  seat. 

"  For  heaven's  sake,  Craig,"  I  gasped  from  under 
the  robe,  "  let  me  have  a  little  air." 

I  had  taken  my  place  under  the  robe  before  the  car 
was  driven  up  before  the  apartment,  lest  some  emissary 
of  Wu  Fang  might  be  watching  to  see  that  there  was 
no  such  trick. 

'  You'll  get  air  enough  when  we  get  started,  Wal 
ter,"  he  laughed  back  under  his  breath,  apparently  ad 
dressing  the  engine. 

Kennedy  was  a  hard  driver  when  he  wanted  to  be 
and  enough  was  at  stake  to-night  to  make  him  drive 


62  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

hard.  He  whizzed  along  in  the  roadster,  and  I  was 
indeed  glad  enough  to  huddle  up  under  the  robe. 

We  had  reached  a  point  in  the  suburbs  which  was  de 
serted  and  I  did  not  recognize  a  thing  when  he  pulled 
up  by  the  side  of  the  road  with  a  jerk.  I  peered 
through  a  crease  in  the  corner  of  the  robe,  and  saw 
him  slide  out  from  under  the  wheel  and  stand  by  the 
side  of  the  car,  looking  up  and  down.  Ahead  of  us  the 
road  curved  sharply  and  I  had  no  idea  what  was  there, 
though  Kennedy  seemed  to  know  the  place. 

A  moment  later  he  pulled  the  robe  partly  off  me, 
and  bent  down  as  though  examining  the  batteries  on 
the  side  of  the  car. 

"  Get  out  on  the  other  side  in  the  shadow  of  the  car, 
Walter,"  he  whispered  hoarsely.  "  Go  down  the  road 
a  bit — only  cut  in  and  keep  under  cover.  This  is 
Williams  Avenue.  You'll  see  a  big  rock.  Hide  be 
hind  it.  Ahead  you'll  see  Brownlee  Avenue.  Be  pre 
pared  for  anything.  I  shall  have  to  trust  the  rest  te 
you.  I  don't  know  myself  what's  going  to  happen." 

I  slid  out  and  went  along  the  edge  of  the  road,  as 
Craig  had  directed,  and  finally  crouched  behind  a 
huge  rock,  feeling  on  as  much  tension  as  if  I  had  been 
a  boy  playing  at  Wild  West.  Only  this  might  at  any 
moment  develop  into  the  reality  of  a  Wild  Far  East. 

After  a  moment  to  give  me  a  chance,  Craig  himself 
left  the  car  pulled  up  close  by  the  side  of  the  road  and 
went  ahead  on  foot.  At  last  he  came  to  the  cross-roads 
just  around  the  bend,  where  in  the  moonlight  he  could 
read  the  sign:  "Williams  Avenue"  and  "Brownlee 
Avenue/'  He  stood  there  a  moment,  then  glanced  at 
his  watch  which  registered  both  hands  approaching  the 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  63 

hour  of  twelve.  He  gazed  about  at  the  deserted  coun 
try.  Had  the  appointment  been  a  hoax,  after  all,  a 
scheme  to  get  him  away  from  the  city  for  some  pur 
pose? 

Suddenly,  at  his  feet  in  the  dust  of  the  road  some 
thing  heavy  seemed  to  drop.  He  looked  about  quickly. 
No  one  was  in  sight. 

He  reached  down  and  picked  up  a  little  Chinese 
figure.  Tapping  it  with  his  knuckle,  he  examined  it 
curiously.  It  was  hollow. 

From  the  inside  he  drew  out  a  piece  of  paper.  He 
strained  his  eyes  in  the  moonlight  and  managed  to 
make  out  : 

The  Serpent  is  all-wise,  and  his  fang  is  fatal.  You 
have  signed  the  white  girl's  death  warrant. 

Beneath  this  sinister  warning  was  stamped  the  ser 
pent  sign  of  Wu  Fang. 

It  was  not  a  hoax,  and  Kennedy  stood  there  a  mo 
ment  gazing  about  in  tense  anxiety.  Had  that  uncanny 
watching  eye  observed  his  every  action?  Was  it 
Staring  at  him  now  in  the  blackness? 


Meanwhile,  I  had  made  my  way  stealthily,  peering 
into  the  bushes  and  careful  not  even  to  step  on  any 
thing  that  would  make  a  noise  and  was  now,  as  I  have 
said,  crouched  behind  the  big  rock  to  which  Craig  had 
directed  me.  I  heard  him  go  along  the  road  and  looked 
about  cautiously,  but  could  hear  and  see  nothing  else. 

I  had  begun  to  wonder  whether  Kennedy  might  not 
have  made  a  mistake  when,  suddenly,  from  behind  the 
shadow  of  another  rock,  ahead  of  me,  but  toward 


64  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Brownlee  Avenue,  I  saw  a  tall,  gaunt  figure  of  a  man 
rise  in  the  moonlight,  almost  as  if  it  had  sprung  from 
the  very  earth. 

My  heart  gave  a  leap,  as  he  quickly  raised  his  right 
arm  and  hurled  something  as  far  as  he  could  in  the 
direction  that  Kennedy  had  taken.  If  it  had  been  a 
bomb,  followed  by  an  explosion,  I  would  not  have  been 
surprised.  But  no  sound  followed  as  the  figure 
dropped  back,  as  if  it  had  been  a  wraith. 

I  stole  out  from  my  own  hiding-place  in  the  shadow 
of  my  rock  and  darted  quickly  to  the  shelter  of  a  bush, 
nearer  the  figure. 

The  figure  was  no  wraith.  It  turned  to  steal  away. 
I  remembered  Kennedy's  parting  words.  If  the  man 
ever  gained  the  darkness  of  a  clump  of  woods,  just 
beyond  us,  he  was  as  good  as  safe.  This  was  the  time 
to  act. 

I  leaped  at  him  and  we  went  down,  rolling  over  and 
over  in  the  underbrush  and  stubble.  We  fought 
fiercely,  but  I  could  not  seem  to  get  a  glimpse  of  his 
face  which  was  muffled. 

He  was  powerful  and  stronger  than  I  and  after  a 
tough  tussle  he  broke  loose.  But  I  had  succeeded, 
nevertheless.  I  had  delayed  him  just  long  enough. 
Kennedy  heard  the  sound  of  the  struggle  and  was  now 
crashing  through  the  hedge  at  the  cross-roads  in  our 
direction. 

I  managed  to  pick  myself  up,  just  as  Kenned}) 
reached  my  side  and,  together,  we  followed  the  re~ 
treating  figure,  as  it  made  its  way  among  the  shadows. 
Across  the  open  space  before  us  we  followed  him  and 
at  last  saw  him  dive  into  an  old  barn. 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  65 

A  moment  later  we  followed  hot-foot  into  the  barn. 
A.S  we  entered,  we  could  hear  a  peculiar  grating  noise, 
as  though  a  door  was  swung  on  its  rusty  hinges.  The 
front  door  was  open.  Evidently  the  man  had  gone 
through  and  closed  the  back  door. 

We  threw  ourselves  against  the  back  door.  But  it 
did  not  yield.  There  was  no  time  to  waste  and  we 
turned  to  rush  out  again  by  the  way  we  had  corne^, 
just  as  the  front  door  was  slammed  shut. 

The  man  had  trapped  us.  He  had  left  both  doors 
open,  had  run  through,  braced  the  back  door,  then  had 
rushed  around  outside  just  in  time  to  brace  the  front 
door  also. 

We  could  hear  his  feet  crunching  the  dry  leaves  and 
twigs  as  he  went  around  the  side  of  the  barn  again. 
Together  we  threw  ourselves  against  the  front  door, 
but,  although  it  yielded  a  little  he  had  barred  it  so  that 
it  would  resist  our  united  strength  for  some  time. 

Again  and  again  we  threw  ourselves  against  it.  It 
was  horribly  dark  in  there,  except  for  an  oblong  spot 
where  the  moonlight  streamed  in  through  a  window. 
Suddenly  the  pale  silver  of  the  moonlight  on  the  floor 
reddened. 

The  man  had  struck  a  match  and  thrown  it  into  a 
mass  of  oil-soaked  straw  and  gunpowder  which  pro 
truded  through  one  of  the  weather-beaten  boards,  near 
the  floor. 

It  was  only  a  matter  of  a  second  or  so  now  when 
the  fire  swept  into  the  barn  itself.  There  was  no  beat 
ing  it  out  Some  one  had  literally  soaked  the  straw 
and  the  floor  with  oil.  It  seemed  as  though  the  whole 
place  burst  into  a  sudden  blaze  of  tinder.  Outside, 


66  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

we  could  hear  footsteps  rapidly  retreating  toward  the 
shelter  of  the  clump  of  woods. 

For  a  second  I  looked  dismayed  at  the  rapidly- 
mounting  flames. 

"  A  very  pretty  situation,"  I  forced  with  a  laugh. 
"  But  I  hope  he  doesn't  think  we'll  stay  here  and  burn, 
with  a  perfectly  good  window  in  full  view." 

I  took  a  step  toward  the  window,  but  before  I  could 
take  another,  Kennedy  yanked  me  back. 

"  Don't  think  for  a  moment  that  he  overlooked  that," 
he  shouted. 

Craig  looked  around  hastily.  In  a  corner,  just  back 
of  us  was  a  long  pole.  He  snatched  it  up  and  moved 
cautiously  toward  the  window,  keeping  the  pole  as 
level  as  possible  as  he  endeavored  to  get  a  leverage  on 
the  sash.  The  flames  were  mounting  faster  and  higher, 
licking  up  everything. 

"  Keep  back,  Walter,"  he  muttered,  "  just  as  far  as 
you  can." 

He  had  scarcely  raised  the  window  a  fraction  of  an 
inch  when  an  old  rusty,  heavy  anvil  and  a  bent  worn 
plowshare  crashed  down  to  the  floor  directly  over  the 
spot  where  I  should  have  been  if  he  had  not  dragged 
me  away.  I  started  back,  aghast.  Nothing  had  been 
overlooked  to  finish  us  off. 

"  I  think  you  may  try  it  safely  now,  all  right," 
smiled  Kennedy  coolly. 

We  climbed  out  of  the  window,  not  an  instant  too 
soon  from  the  raging  inferno  about  us. 

Having  gained  the  clump  of  woods,  the  gaunt  figure 
had  paused  long  enough  to  gloat  over  his  clever  scheme. 
Instead,  he  saw  us  making  good  our  escape.  With  a 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  67 

gesture  of  intense  fury  he  turned.  There  was  nothing 
more  for  him  to  do  but  to  zigzag  his  way  to  safety 
across  country. 

The  barn  was  now  burning  fiercely  and  it  was  al 
most  as  light  as  day  about  us.  Kennedy  paused  only 
long  enough  to  look  down  at  the  ground  where  the  fire 
had  been  started. 

"  See,  Walter,"  he  exclaimed  pointing  to  a  square 
indention  in  the  soft  soil.  "  No  white  man  ever  made 
a  footprint  like  that." 

I  bent  over.  The  prints  had  the  squareness  of  those 
paper-layered  soles  of  a  Chinaman. 

"  Long  Sin,"  came  the  name  involuntarily  to  my 
lips,  for  I  knew  that  Wu  would  delegate  just  such  a 
job  to  his  faithful  slave. 

Kennedy  did  not  pause  an  instant  longer,  but  in  the 
light  of  the  burning  barn,  as  best  he  could,  started  to 
follow  the  trail  in  a  desperate  endeavor  either  to  over 
take  Long  Sin,  or  at  least  to  find  the  final  direction  in 
which  he  would  go. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  passageway  which  led  to  the 
little  underground  chamber  in  which  we  had  sought 
the  treasure  hidden  by  the  Clutching  Hand,  Wu  Fang 
was  seated  on  a  rock  waiting  impatiently,  though  now 
and  then  indulging  in  a  sinister  smile  at  the  subtle 
trick  by  which  he  had  recovered  the  ring. 

The  sound  of  approaching  footsteps  disturbed  him. 
He  was  far  too  clever  to  leave  anything  to  chance  and, 
like  a  serpent,  he  wriggled  behind  another  rock  and 
waited.  It  was  only  a  glance,  however,  that  he  needed 
to  allay  his  suspicions.  It  was  Long  Sin,  breathless. 


68  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Wu  stepped  out  beside  him  so  quietly  that  even  the 
acute  Long  Sin  did  not  hear.  "  Well?"  he  said  in  a 
guttural  tone. 

Long  Sin  drew  back  in  fear.  "  I  have  failed,  oh 
master,"  he  replied  in  an  imploring  tone.  "  Even  now 
they  follow  my  tracks." 

It  was  bad  enough  to  confess  defeat  without  the 
fear  of  capture. 

Wu  frowned.  "  We  must  work  quickly,  then,"  he 
muttered. 

He  picked  up  a  dark  lantern  near-by,  indicating  an 
other  to  Long  Sin.  They  entered  the  cave,  flashing 
the  lights  ahead  of  them. 

"  Be  careful,"  ordered  Wu,  proceeding  gingerly 
from  one  stepping-stone  to  another.  "  We  shall  be 
followed  no  further  than  this." 

He  paused  a  moment  and  pointed  his  finger  at  the 
earth.  Everywhere,  except  here  and  there  where  a 
stone  projected,  was  a  sticky,  slimy  substance.  It  was 
an  old  trick  of  primitive  races. 

"  Bird  lime,"  hissed  Wu,  pointing  at  the  viscid  sub 
stance  made  of  the  juice  of  the  holly  bark,  extracted  by 
boiling,  and  mixed  with  a  third  part  of  nut  oil  and 
grease. 

They  passed  on  from  stone  to  stone  until  they  came 
to  the  subterranean  chamber  itself.  Without  a  mo 
ment's  hesitation,  Wu  made  his  way  toward  the  rock 
in  which  they  had  found  the  slot  with  its  cryptic  in 
scription. 

Long  Sin  watched  his  master  in  silent  admiration 
as,  at  last,  he  drew  forth  the  mystic  ring  for  which 
they  had  dared  all. 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  69 

Without  a  word,  Wu  dropped  it  in  the  slot.  It 
tinkled  down  the  runway,  a  protuberance  hit  a  trigger 
and  pushed  it  a  hair's  breadth. 

A  noise  behind  them  caused  the  two  to  turn  startled. 
Even  Wu  had  not  expected  it. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  chamber,  a  great  rock  in 
the  ground  slowly  turned,  as  though  on  a  pivot.  They 
watched,  fascinated.  Even  then  Wu  did  not  forget  the 
precious  ring,  but  as  the  rock  turned,  reached  down 
quickly  and  recovered  it  from  the  cup  at  the  floor. 

Inch  by  inch  the  pivoted  rock  moved  on  its  axis. 
They  flashed  their  lanterns  full  on  it  and,  as  it  moved, 
they  could  see  disclosed  huge  piles  of  gold  and  silver 
in  coins  and  bars  and  ornaments,  a  chest  literally  filled 
with  brilliants,  set  and  unset,  rubies,  emeralds,  precious 
stones  of  every  conceivable  variety,  a  cave  that  would 
have  staggered  even  Aladdin — the  rich  reward  of  the 
countless  marauding  operations  of  Bennett's  other  per 
sonality. 

For  a  moment  they  could  merely  stand  in  avaricious 
exultation. 

Painfully  and  slowly,  we  managed  to  trail  Long 
Sin's  footprints,  until  we  came  to  a  road  where  they 
were  lost  in  the  hard  macadam.  There  was  no  time  to 
stop.  We  must  follow  the  road  on  the  chance  that 
he  had  taken  it.  But  which  way? 

Kennedy  chose  the  most  likely  direction,  for  the 
trail  had  been  at  an  angle  to  the  road  and  Long  Sin 
was  not  likely  to  double  back.  We  had  not  gone  many 
rods  before  Kennedy  paused  a  minute  and  looked  about 
in  the  moonlight. 


;o  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

(( It's  right,  Walter,"  he  cried.  "  Do  you  recognize 
it?" 

I  looked  about.  Then  it  flashed  over  me.  This  was 
the  back  road  that  led  past  the  entrance  to  the  treasure 
vault  at  Aunt  Tabby's. 

We  went  on  now  more  quickly,  listening  carefully 
to  catch  any  sounds,  but  heard  nothing.  At  last 
Kennedy  stopped,  then  plunged  among  the  rocks  and 
bushes  beside  the  road.  We  were  at  the  cave. 

"  You  go  in  this  way,  Walter,"  he  directed.  "  I'll 
go  around  and  down  where  it  caved  in." 

I  groped  my  way  along  through  the  darkness. 

I  had  gone  only  a  yard  or  two,  when  it  seemed  as 
though  something  had  grasped  my  foot. 

With  a  great  wrench  I  managed  to  pull  it  loose. 
But  the  weight  on  my  other  foot  had  imbedded  it 
deeper.  I  struggled  to  free  this  foot  and  got  the  other 
caught.  My  revolver,  which  I  had  drawn,  was  jarred 
from  my  hand  and  in  the  effort  to  recover  it,  I  lost 
my  balance.  Unable  to  move  a  foot  in  time  to  catch 
myself,  I  fell  forward.  My  hands  were  now  covered 
by  the  slimy,  sticky  stuff,  and  the  more  I  struggled, 
the  worse  I  seemed  to  get  entangled. 

Wu  and  Long  Sin  paused  only  a  minute  in  astonish 
ment.  Then  they  literally  fell  upon  the  wealth  that  lay 
before  them,  gloating  over  the  gold,  stuffing  their 
hands  into  the  jewels,  lifting  them  up  and  letting  the 
priceless  gems  run  through  their  ringers. 

Suddenly  they  paused.  There  was  the  slight  tinkle 
of  a  Chinese  bell. 

Kennedy  had  reached  Aunt  Tabby's  garden,  outside 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  71 

the  roof  of  the  subterranean  chamber  where  it  had 
given  way,  had  gone  down  carefully  over  the  earth  and 
rock,  and  in  doing  so  had  broken  a  string  stretched 
across  the  passageway.  The  tinkle  of  a  bell  attached 
to  it  aroused  his  attention  and  he  stopped  short,  a  sec 
ond,  to  look  about.  Wu  Fang  had  arranged  a  primi 
tive  alarm. 

Quickly,  Wu  and  Long  Sin  blew  out  their  lanterns 
while  Wu  gave  the  rock  a  push.  Slowly,  as  it  had 
opened,  it  now  closed  and  they  stood  there  listening. 

I  was  still  struggling  in  the  bird  lime,  getting  myself 
more  and  more  covered  with  it,  when  the  reverberation 
of  revolver  shots  reached  me. 

Wu  and  Long  Sin  had  opened  fire  on  Kennedy,  and 
Kennedy  was  replying  in  kind.  In  the  cavern  it 
sounded  like  a  veritable  bombardment.  As  they  re 
treated,  they  came  nearer  and  nearer  to  me  and  I  could 
see  the  revolvers  spitting  fire  in  the  darkness.  So  in 
tent  were  they  on  Kennedy  that  they  forgot  me. 

I  watched  them  fearfully  as  they  hopped  deftly  from 
one  stone  to  another  to  avoid  the  lime — and  were  gone. 

"  Craig!  Craig!"  I  managed  to  cry  feebly.  "Be 
careful.  Keep  to  the  stones." 

He  strained  his  eyes  toward  the  ground  in  the  dark 
ness,  at  the  sound  of  my  voice.  Then  he  struck  a 
match  and  instantly  took  in  the  situation  which,  to  me, 
under  any  other  circumstances,  would  have  been  ludi 
crous. 

Stepping  from  stone  to  stone,  he  followed  the  re 
treating  Chinamen.  But  they  had  already  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  cave  and  were  making  their  way  rapidly 
down  the  road  to  a  bend,  in  the  opposite  direction  from 


72  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

which  we  had  come.  There,  Wu's  automobile  was 
waiting.  They  leaped  into  it  and  the  driver,  without  a 
word,  shot  the  car  off  into  the  darkness  of  early  dawn. 

A  moment  later,  Kennedy  appeared,  but  they  had 
made  their  getaway.  Baffled,  he  turned  and  retraced 
.his  steps  to  the  cave. 

I  don't  think  that  I  ever  welcomed  him  more  sin 
cerely  than  I  did  as,  finally,  I  crawled  slowly  out  from 
the  bird  lime,  exhausted  by  the  effort  that  I  had  made 
to  free  myself  from  the  sticky  mess. 

"They  got  away,  Walter,"  he  said,  lighting  a  lan 
tern  they  had  dropped.  "  By  George,"  he  added,  I 
think  a  little  vexed  that  I  had  not  been  able  to  stop 
them,  "  you  are  a  sight !  " 

He  was  about  to  laugh,  when  I  fainted.  I  can  re 
member  nothing  until  I  woke  up  over  by  the  wall  of 
the  chamber  where  he  dragged  me. 

Kennedy  had  been  working  hard  to  revive  me,  and, 
as  I  opened  my  eyes,  he  straightened  up.  His  eye  sud 
denly  caught  something  on  the  rock  beside  him. 
There  was  a  little  slot  carved  in  it,  and  above  the  slot 
was  a  peculiar  inscription. 

For  several  minutes,  Kennedy  puzzled  over  it,  as 
Wu  had  done.  Then  he  discovered  the  little  cup  near 
the  ground. 

"  The  ring!  "  he  suddenly  cried  out. 

I  was  too  muddled  to  appreciate  at  once  what  he 
meant,  but  I  saw  him  reach  into  his  fob  pocket  and 
draw  forth  the  replica,  of  the  trinket  which  had  caused 
so  much  disaster,  as  if  it  had  been  cursed  by  the 
Clutching  Hand  himself.  He  dropped  it  into  the  slot. 

Struggling  to  my  feet,  I  saw  across  from  me  the 


THE  WATCHING  EYE  73 

very  rock  itself  moving.  Was  it  an  hallucination,  born 
of  my  nervous  condition? 

"  Look,  Craig ! "  I  cried  involuntarily,  pointing. 

He  turned.  No,  it  was  not  a  vision.  It  actually 
moved.  Together  we  watched.  Slowly  the  rock  turned 
on  a  pivot.  There  were  disclosed  to  our  astonished 
eyes  the  hidden  millions  of  the  Clutching  Hand. 

I  looked  from  the  gold  and  jewels  to  Kennedy,  in 
speechless  amazement. 

"  We  have  beaten  them,  anyhow,"  I  cried. 

Slowly  Craig  shook  his  head  sadly. 

"  Yes,"  he  murmured,  "  we  have  found  the  Clutch 
ing  Hand's  millions,  but  we  have  lost  Elaine." 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG 

ELAINE  was  still  in  the  power  of  Wu  Fang. 

Kennedy  had  thwarted  the  Chinese  master  criminal 
in  his  search  for  the  millions  amassed  by  the  Clutching 
Hand.  But  any  joy  that  we  might  have  derived  from 
this  success  was  completely  obscured  by  the  fear  that 
Wu  might  wreak  some  diabolical  vengeance  on  Elaine. 

It  was  a  ticklish  situation.  In  fact,  I  doubt  whether 
Craig  would  have  discovered  the  treasure  at  all,  if  our 
pursuit  of  Wu  and  Long  Sin  the  night  before  had  not 
literally  forced  us  into  doing  so. 

Nor  were  Kennedy's  fears  unfounded.  Wu  and 
Long  Sin  had  scarcely  reached  the  secret  apartment 
back  of  the  deceptive  exterior  of  the  Chinatown  tene 
ment,  when  the  subtle  Chinaman  began  to  contemplate 
his  revenge. 

Long  Sin  was  smoking  a  Chinese  pipe,  resting  after 
their  hurried  flight,  while  Wu,  the  tireless,  was  seated 
at  a  table  at  the  other  end  of  the  room.  At  last  Wu 
Fang  took  up  a  long  Chinese  dirk  from  the  table  be 
fore  him,  looked  at  it,  turned  it  over,  felt  its  edge.  It 
was  keen  and  the  point  was  sharp.  He  rose  and  delib 
erately  walked  across  to  a  door  leading  into  a  back 
room. 

74 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        75 

On  a  couch  lay  Elaine  and  with  her,  as  a  guardian, 
was  Weepy  Mary  whom  the  Clutching  Hand  had  used 
to  lure  her  to  the  church  where  the  faked  record  of  her 
father's  marriage  was  supposed  to  be.  Indeed,  though 
Wu  had  lost  the  Clutching  Hand's  millions,  he  had  seen 
his  chance  and  had  fallen  heir  to  what  was  left  of 
Bennett's  criminal  organization. 

As  Wu,  the  Serpent,  entered  and  advanced  slowly 
towards  Elaine,  she  crouched  back  from  him  in  deadly 
fear.  He  stopped  before  her  without  a  word  and  his 
menacing  eye  seemed  to  read  her  very  thoughts. 

Slowly  he  drew  from  under  his  robe  the  Chinese 
dirk.  He  felt  the  edge  of  it  again  and  gazed  signifi 
cantly  at  Elaine.  She  shrank  back  even  further,  as 
far  as  the  divan  would  permit. 

It  was  a  critical  moment. 

Just  then  Long  Sin  entered.  "  One  of  the  five  mil 
lions  waits  outside,"  he  reported  simply,  with  a  bow. 

Wu  understood.  It  had  been  a  pleasant  fiction  of 
his  that  although  he  did  not,  of  course,  absolutely  con 
trol  such  a  stupendous  organization  he  could,  by  his 
subtle  power,  force  almost  unlimited  allegiance  from 
the  simple  coolies  in  that  district  of  China  from  which 
he  came. 

Out  in  the  front  room,  just  a  moment  before,  a  knock 
at  the  door  had  disturbed  Long  Sin,  and  a  Chinese 
servant  had  announced  a  visitor.  Long  Sin  had  waved 
to  the  servant  to  usher  him  in  and  a  poorly  clad  coolie 
had  entered. 

He  bowed  as  Long  Sin  faced  him.  "  Where  is  the 
master  ?  "  he  had  asked. 

Long  Sin  had  not  deigned  to  speak.     With  a  mere 


76  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

wave  of  his  hand,  he  indicated  that  he  would  be  the 
bearer  of  the  message,  and  had  followed  Wu  through 
the  door  of  the  back  room. 

So,  almost  by  chance,  Wu  was  interrupted  in  the 
brutal  vengeance  whic].i  had  first  come  to  his  mind. 
He  sheathed  the  knife  and,  still  without  a  word,  went 
back  into  the  main  room,  giving  a  nod  to  Weepy  Mary 
to  guard  Elaine  closely. 

Wu  eyed  the  coolie  until  the  newcomer  could  almost 
feel  the  master's  penetrating  gaze,  although  his  head 
was  bowed  in  awe.  Quickly  the  coolie  thrust  his  hand 
under  his  blouse  and  drew  forth  a  package.  With  an 
other  bow,  he  advanced. 

"  For  your  enemies,  oh  master,"  he  said,  handing  the 
package  over  to  Wu. 

For  the  first  time  since  the  loss  of  the  treasure,  Wu 
Fang  seemed  to  take  an  interest  in  something  besides 
revenge.  The  coolie  started  to  open  the  package,  re 
moved  the  paper  wrapper,  and  then  a  silk  wrapping  in 
side.  Finally  he  came  to  a  box,  from  which  he  drew  a 
leather  pouch,  each  operation  conducted  with  greater 
care  as  it  became  evident  that  the  contents  were  es 
pecially  precious  in  some  way.  Then  he  took  from  the 
pouch  a  small  vial. 

"What  is  it?"  demanded  Wu  Fang,  as  the  coolie 
displayed  it. 

The  coolie  drew  forth  now  a  magnifying  glass  and  a 
glass  slide.  Opening  the  vial  with  great  care  he  shook 
something  out  on  the  slide,  then  placed  it  under  the 
lens. 

"  Look!  "  he  said  simply. 

Wu  bent  over  and  looked.    Under  the  lens  what  had 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        77 

formerly  seemed  to  be  merely  a  black  speck  of  dirt 
became  now  one  of  the  most  weird  and  uncanny  little 
creatures  to  be  found  in  all  the  realm  of  nature.  It 
seemed  to  be  all  legs  and  feelers  moving  at  once.  A 
normal  person  would  have  looked  at  the  creature  only 
with  the  greatest  repugnance.  Wu  regarded  it  with 
a  sort  of  unholy  fascination. 

"  And  it  is?  "  he  queried. 

"  What  the  white  man  calls  the  African  tick  which 
carries  the  recurrent  fever,"  answered  the  coolie  defer 
entially. 

A  flash  of  intense  exultation  seemed  to  darken  Wu 
Fang's  sinister  face.  Several  times  he  paced  up  and 
down  the  room,  as  he  contemplated  the  sight  which  he 
had  just  seen.  Then  he  came  to  a  sudden  determin 
ation. 

"Wait,"  he  said  to  the  coolie,  as  he  moved  slowly 
again  into  the  back  room. 

Long  Sin  had  remained  there.  With  Weepy  Mary 
he  was  guarding  Elaine  when  Wu  Fang  reentered. 
Elaine  was  thoroughly  aroused  by  this  time.  Even  the 
fact  that  Wu  no  longer  held  the  murderous  dirk  did 
not  serve  to  reassure  her,  for  the  look  on  his  face 
was  even  more  terrible  than  before. 

He  smiled  cunningly  to  himself. 

"  Suffering  is  a  state  of  mind,"  he  said  in  a  low 
tone,  "  and  I  have  decided  that  it  would  be  poor  re 
venge  for  me  to  harm  you.  You  are  free." 

Nothing  could  have  come  as  a  greater  surprise 
to  Elaine.  Even  Long  Sin  had  not  expected  any 
such  speech  as  this.  Elaine,  however,  was  wonder- 
stricken. 


78  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"Do  you — do  you  really  mean  it?"  she  asked, 
scarcely  able  to  believe  what  her  ears  heard. 

Wu  merely  nodded,  and  with  a  wave  of  his  hand  to 
Long  Sin  indicated  that  Elaine  was  to  be  released. 

Long  Sin,  the  slave,  did  not  stop  to  question  his  mas 
ter,  but  merely  moved  over  to  a  closet  and  took  out  the 
hat  and  wraps  which  Elaine  had  worn  when  she  had 
been  kidnapped  in  the  up-town  apartment.  He  handed 
them  over  to  her  and  she  put  them  on  with  trembling 
hands. 

No  one  stopped  her  and  she  nerved  herself  to  take 
several  steps  toward  the  door.  She  had  scarcely 
crossed  half  the  room. 

"  Wait !  "  ordered  Wu  sharply. 

Was  he  merely  torturing  her,  as  a  cat  might  torture 
a  mouse?  She  stopped  obediently,  afraid  to  look  at 
him. 

"  This  will  be  the  vengeance  of  Wu  Fang,"  he  went 
on  impressively.  "  Slowly,  one  by  one,  your  friends 
will  weaken  and  die,  then  your  family,  until  finally  only 
you  are  left.  Then  will  come  your  turn." 

He  stopped  again  and  raised  his  long  lean  forefinger. 
"  Go,"  he  hissed.  "  I  wish  you  much  joy." 

He  turned  to  Long  Sin  and  whispered  a  word  to 
him.  A  moment  later,  Long  Sin  drew  forth  a  large 
silken  handkerchief  and  tied  it  tightly  over  Elaine's 
eyes.  Then  he  took  her  hand  and  led  her  out.  There 
was  to  be  no  chance  by  which  she  could  lead  a  raiding 
party  back  to  the  den  in  which  she  had  been  held. 


I  don't  think  that  in  all  our  friendship  I  have  ever 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        79 

seen  Kennedy  so  utterly  depressed  as  he  was  when  we 
returned  after  the  discovery  of  the  vast  fortune  which 
Bennett  had  cleverly  secreted.  I  came  upon  him  in  the 
laboratory  the  next  morning  while  he  was  trying  to 
read.  He  had  laid  aside  his  scientific  work,  and  now 
he  had  even  laid  aside  his  book. 

There  seemed  to  be  absolutely  nothing  to  do  until 
some  new  clue  turned  up.  I  placed  my  hand  on  his 
shoulder,  but  the  words  that  would  encourage  him  died 
on  my  lips.  Several  times  I  started  to  speak,  but  each 
time  I  checked  myself.  There  did  not  seem  to  be  any 
thing  that  would  be  appropriate  for  such  an  occa 
sion. 

A  sharp  ring  at  the  telephone  made  both  of  us  fairly 
jump,  so  nervous  had  we  become.  Kennedy  reached 
over  instantly  for  the  instrument  in  the  vague  hope  that 
at  last  there  was  some  news. 

As  I  watched  his  face,  it  changed  first  from  despair 
to  wonder,  and  finally  it  seemed  to  light  up  with  the 
most  remarkable  look  of  relief  and  happiness  that  one 
could  imagine. 

"  I  shall  be  right  over,"  he  cried,  jamming  the  re 
ceiver  down  on  the  hook,  and  in  the  same  motion 
reaching  for  his  hat  and  coat.  "  Walter,"  he  cried,  "  it 
is  Elaine !  They  have  let  her  go !  " 

I  seized  my  own  hat  and  coat  in  time  to  follow  him 
and  we  dashed  out  of  the  laboratory. 

The  suspense  under  which  Aunt  Josephine  had  been 
living  had  told  on  her.  Her  niece,  Elaine's  cousin, 
Mary  Brown,  who  lived  at  Rockledge,  had  come  into 
the  city  to  comfort  Aunt  Josephine  and  they  had  been 
sitting,  that  morning,  in  the  library.  Marie,  the  maid 


8o  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

was  busy  about  the  room,  while  Aunt  Josephine  talked 
sadly  over  Elaine's  strange  disappearance.  She  was 
on  the  verge  of  tears. 

Suddenly  a  startled  cry  from  Jennings  out  in  the 
hall  caused  both  ladies  to  jump  to  their  feet.  They 
could  scarcely  believe  what  they  heard  as  the  faithful 
old  butler  cried  out  the  name. 

"  Why — Miss  Elaine !  "  he  gasped. 

An  instant  later  Elaine  herself  burst  into  the  room 
and  flung  herself  into  Aunt  Josephine's  arms.  All 
talking  and  half  crying  from  joy  at  once,  they  crowded 
about  her.  Breathlessly  she  answered  the  questions 
that  flew  thick  and  fast. 

In  the  excitement  Aunt  Josephine  had  seized  the  tele 
phone  and  called  our  number.  She  did  not  even  wait 
to  break  the  good  news,  but  handed  the  telephone  to 
Elaine  herself. 

We  left  the  laboratory  on  the  run,  too  fast  to  notice 
that  just  around  the  building  line  at  the  corner  stood 
a  limousine  with  shades  drawn.  Even  if  we  had  paused 
to  glance  back,  we  could  not  have  seen  Wu  Fang  and 
Long  Sin  inside,  gazing  out  through  the  corner  of  the 
curtains.  They  were  in  European  dress  now  and  had 
evidently  come  prepared  for  just  what  they  knew  was 
likely  to  happen. 

In  all  the  strange  series  of  events,  I  doubt  whether 
we  had  ever  made  better  time  from  the  laboratory  over 
to  the  Dodge  house  than  we  did  now.  We  were  ad 
mitted  by  the  faithful  Jennings  and  almost  ran  into 
the  library. 

"Oh,  Craig!"  cried  Elaine,  as  Kennedy,  almost 
speechless,  seized  her  by  both  hands. 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        81 

For  a  few  seconds  none  of  us  could  speak.  Then 
followed  a  veritable  flood  of  eager  conversation. 

I  watched  Elaine  carefully,  in  fact  we  all  did,  for 
she  seemed,  in  spite  of  the  excitement  of  her  return, 
to  be  almost  a  complete  nervous  wreck  from  the  terri 
ble  experiences  she  had  undergone. 

"  Won't  you  come  and  stay  with  me  a  few  days 
up  in  the  country,  dear?  "  urged  Mary  at  last. 

Elaine  thought  a  moment,  then  turned  to  Aunt 
Josephine. 

"  Yes,"  considered  her  aunt,  "  I  think  it  would  do 
you  good." 

Still  she  hesitated ;  then  shyly  looked  at  Kennedy  and 
laughed.  "  You,  too,  Craig,  must  be  fagged  out,"  she 
said  frankly.  "  Come  up  there  with  us  and  take  a 
rest." 

Kennedy  smiled.  "  I  shall  be  delighted,"  he  ac 
cepted  promptly. 

"You,  too,  Mr.  Jameson,"  she  added,  turning  to 
me. 

I  hesitated  a  moment  and  Kennedy  tried  to  catch  my 
eye.  I  was  just  about  to  speak  when  he  brought  his 
heel  down  sharply  on  my  toe.  I  looked  at  him  again 
and  caught  just  the  trace  of  a  nod  of  his  head.  I  saw 
that  I  was  de  trop. 

"  No,  thank  you,"  I  replied.  "  I'm  afraid  I'd  better 
not  go.  Really,  I  have  too  much  work  staring  at  me. 
I  can't  get  away — but  it's  very  kind  of  you  to  think  of 
asking  me." 

We  chatted,  then  left  a  few  moments  later  so  that 
Kennedy  could  pack. 


82  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Around  the  corner  from  the  laboratory,  as  we  dashed 
out,  had  been,  as  I  have  said,  Wu  Fang  and  Long  Sin 
looking  out  from  the  limousine.  No  sooner  had  we 
disappeared  across  the  campus  than  their  driver  started 
up  the  car  and  they  sped  around  to  our  apartment. 

Cautiously  they  alighted  and  walked  down  the  street. 
Then  making  sure  they  were  not  observed,  they  entered 
and  mounted  the  stairs  to  our  doorway.  Long  Sin  was 
stationed  down  the  hall  on  guard  while  Wu  Fang  drew 
from  his  pocket  a  blank  key,  a.  file  and  a  candle.  He 
lighted  the  candle  and  held  the  key  in  its  flame  until  it 
was  covered  with  soot. 

Then  he  inserted  the  key  in  the  keyhole,  turned  it 
and  took  the  key  out.  Working  quickly  now,  he  ex 
amined  the  key  sharply.  In  the  soot  were  slight 
scratches  indicating  where  it  struck  and  prevented  the 
turning  of  the  lock.  He  filed  the  key,  trying  it  again 
and  again.  Finally  he  finished,  and  opened  the  door. 
Beckoning  Long  Sin,  he  entered  our  rooms. 

As  they  stood  there,  Wu  Fang  gazed  ab  ut  our 
living-room,  keenly.  He  was  evidently  considering 
where  to  place  something,  for,  one  after  another,  he 
picked  up  several  articles  on  the  desk  and  examined 
them.  Each  time  that  he  laid  one  down  he  shook  his 
head. 

Finally  his  eye  rested  on  the  telephone.  It  seemed 
to  suggest  an  idea  to  him  and  he  crossed  over  to  it. 
Carefully  holding  down  the  receiver  on  the  hook,  he 
unscrewed  the  case  which  holds  the  diaphragm,  while 
with  his  clever  fingers  he  held  the  rest  of  the  instru 
ment  intact.  Then  he  removed  from  his  pocket  the 
vial  which  the  coolie  had  given  him  and  placed  its 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        83 

contents  on  the  diaphragm  itself.  Quickly  now  he  re 
placed  the  receiver,  and,  having  finished  their  work, 
Long  Sin  and  Wu  Fang  stealthily  crept  out. 

A  second  time,  as  we  approached  our  apartment 
after  the  visit  to  Elaine,  we  were  too  excited  to  notice 
the  limousine  in  which  were  Wu  and  Long  Sin.  But 
no  sooner  had  we  entered  than  Long  Sin  left  the  car 
with  a  final  word  of  instruction  from  his  master. 

Up-stairs,  in  the  apartment,  Kennedy  began  hur 
riedly  to  pack,  and  I  helped  him  as  well  as  I  could.  We 
were  in  the  midst  of  it  when  the  telephone  rang  and  I 
answered  it. 

"  Hello !  "  I  called. 

There  was  no  response. 

"  Hello,  Hello !  "  I  repeated,  raising  my  voice. 

Still  there  was  no  answer.  I  worked  the  hook  up 
and  down  but  could  get  no  reply.  Finally,  disgusted, 
I  hung  up. 

A  moment  later,  I  recall  now,  it  seemed  to  me  as 
though  some  one  had  stuck  a  pin  into  the  lobe  of  my 
ear.  Still,  I  thought  nothing  of  it  in  the  excitement  of 
Kennedy's  departure,  and  went  to  work  again  to  help 
him  pack. 

We  had  scarcely  got  back  to  work,  when  the  tele 
phone  bell  jangled  again,  and  a  second  time  I  an 
swered  it. 

"  Is  Mr.  Kennedy  there  ? "  came  back  a  strange 
voice. 

I  handed  the  instrument  to  Craig. 

"  Hello,"  he  called.     "  Who  is  this?  " 

No  response. 

"  Hello,  hello,"  he  shouted,  working  the  hook  as  I 


84  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

had  done  and,  as  in  my  case,  there  was  still  no  an 
swer. 

"  Some  crank,"  he  exclaimed,  jamming  down  the 
receiver  in  disgust  and  returning  to  his  packing. 

Neither  of  us  thought  anything  of  it  at  the  time,  but 
now  I  recall  that  I  did  see  Kennedy  once  or  twice 
press  the  lobe  of  his  ear  as  though  something  had  hurt 
it. 

We  did  not  know  until  later  that  in  a  pay  station 
down  the  street  our  arch  enemy,  Long  Sin,  had  been 
calling  us  up  and  then,  with  a  wicked  smile,  refusing 
to  speak  to  us. 


It  was  about  a  week  later  that  I  came  home  late 
one  night  from  the  Star,  feeling  pretty  done  up.  What 
ever  it  was,  a  violent  fever  seemed  to  have  come  on 
me  suddenly.  I  thought  nothing  of  it,  at  first,  be 
cause  I  soon  grew  better.  But  while  it  lasted,  I  had 
the  most  intense  shivering,  excruciating  painc  in  my 
limbs,  and  delirious  headache.  I  recall,  too,  that  I 
felt  a  peculiar  soreness  on  the  ear.  It  was  all  like 
nothing  I  had  ever  had  before. 

Indeed  the  next  morning  when  I  woke  up,  I  felt  a 
lassitude  that  made  it  quite  hard  enough  even  to  lounge 
about  in  my  bath-robe.  Finally,  feeling  no  better,  I 
decided  to  see  a  doctor.  I  put  on  my  clothes  with  a 
decided  effort  and  went  out. 

The  nearest  doctor  was  about  half  a  block  away  and 
we  scarcely  knew  him,  for  neither  Kennedy  nor  I 
were  exactly  sickly. 

"  Well,"  asked  the  doctor,  as  he  closed  the  door  of 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        85 

his  office  and  turned  to  me.  "  What  seems  to  be  the 
matter?" 

I  tried  to  smile.  "  I  feel  as  though  I  had  been  cele 
brating  not  wisely  but  too  well,"  I  replied,  trying  to 
cheer  up,  "  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  I  have  been  leading 
the  simple  life." 

He  sounded  me  and  pounded  me,  looked  at  my 
tongue  and  my  eyes,  listened  to  my  heart  and  lungs, 
though  I  don't  think  he  treated  my  symptoms  very 
seriously.  In  fact,  I  might  have  known  what  he 
would  do.  He  talked  a  little  while  on  generalities,  diet 
and  exercise  then  walked  over  to  a  cabinet,  and 
emptied  out  a  few  pills  into  a  little  paper  box. 

'  Take  one  every  hour,"  he  said,  handing  them  to 
me,  and  carefully  returning  the  bottle  to  the  cabinet  so 
that  I  could  not  see  what  was  on  the  label.  "  Cut 
your  cigarettes  to  three  a  day,  and  don't  drink  coffee. 
Four  dollars,  please." 

I  suppose  I  ought  to  have  been  cured,  and  in  fact  I 
was  cured — of  going  to  that  doctor.  I  paid  him  and 
went  back  to  the  apartment,  my  head  soon  in  a  whirl 
from  a  new  onset  of  the  fever. 

I  managed  to  get  back  into  my  bath-robe,  and  threw 
myself  down  on  the  divan,  propped  up  with  pillows. 
I  had  taken  the  pills  but  they  had  no  more  effect  than 
sugar  of  milk.  By  this  time,  I  was  much  more  de 
lirious  and  was  crying  out. 

I  saw  faces  about  me,  but  I  did  not  see  the  faces 
which  were  actually  out  by  our  hall  door.  Wu  Fang 
and  Long  Sin  had  waited  patiently  for  their  revenge. 
Now  that  they  thought  sufficient  time  had  elapsed,  they 


86  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

had  stolen  stealthily  to  the  apartment  door.  While 
Long  Sin  watched,  Wu  listened. 

"  The  white  devil  has  it,"  whispered  Wu  Fang,  as 
he  rejoined  his  fellow  conspirator. 

How  long  I  should  have  remained  in  this  state,  and 
in  fact  how  long  I  did  remain,  I  don't  know.  Vaguely, 
I  recall  that  our  acquaintance,  Johnson,  who  had  the 
apartment  across  the  hall,  at  last  heard  my  cries  and 
came  out  to  his  own  door.  He  needed  only  a  moment 
to  listen  at  ours  to  know  that  something  was  wrong. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  Jameson?"  he  asked, 
poking  his  head  in  and  looking  anxiously  at  me. 

I  could  only  rave  some  reply,  and  he  tried  his  best 
to  quiet  me.  "  What's  the  matter,  old  man?"  he  re 
peated.  "  Tell  me.  Shall  I  send  for  a  doctor?  " 

Somehow  or  other  I  knew  the  state  I  was  in.  I  knew 
it  was  Johnson,  yet  it  all  seemed  ureal  to  me.  With  a 
great  effort  I  gathered  all  my  scattered  wits  and  man 
aged  to  shout  out,  "  Telegraph  Kennedy — Rockledge." 

By  this  time  Johnson  himself  was  thoroughly 
alarmed.  He  did  not  lose  a  second  in  dictating  a  tele 
gram  over  the  telephone. 


At  about  the  same  time,  up  at  Rockledge,  Kennedy 
and  Elaine,  with  her  cousin  Mary  Brown,  were  start 
ing  out  for  a  horseback  ride  through  the  hills.  They 
were  chatting  gaily,  but  Kennedy  was  forcing  himself 
to  do  so. 

In  fact,  they  had  scarcely  gone  half  a  mile  when 
Kennedy,  who  was  riding  between  the  two  and  fight 
ing  off  by  sheer  nerve  the  illness  he  felt,  suddenly  fell 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        87 

over  in  half  a  faint  on  the  horse's  neck.  Elaine  and 
Mary  reined  up  their  horses. 

*'  Why,  Craig,"  cried  Elaine,  startled,  "  what's  the 
matter?" 

The  sound  of  her  voice  seemed  to  arouse  him.  He 
braced  up.  "  Oh,  nothing,  I  guess,"  he  said  with  a 
forced  smile.  "  I'm  all  right." 

It  was  no  use,  however.  They  had  to  cut  short  the 
ride,  and  Kennedy  returned  to  the  house,  glad  to 
drop  down  in  an  easy  chair  on  the  porch,  while  Elaine 
hovered  about  him  solicitously.  His  head  buzzed,  his 
skin  was  hot  and  dry,  his  eyes  had  an  unnatural  look. 
Every  now  and  then  he  would  place  his  hand  to  his 
ear  as  though  he  felt  some  pain. 

They  had  already  summoned  the  country  doctor,  but 
it  took  him  some  time  to  get  out  to  the  house.  Sud 
denly  a  messenger  boy  rode  up  on  his  bicycle  and 
mounted  the  porch  steps.  "  Telegram  for  Mr.  Ken 
nedy,"  he  announced,  looking  about  and  picking  out 
Craig  naturally  as  the  person  he  wanted. 

Kennedy  nodded  and  took  the  yellow  envelope  while 
Elaine  signed  for  it.  Listlessly  he  tore  it  open.  It 
read: 

CRAIG  KENNEDY, 

c/o  Wellington  Brown, 

Rockledge,  N.  J. 
Jameson  very  ill.     Wants  you.     Better  come. 

JOHNSON. 

The  message  seemed  to  rouse  Kennedy  in  spite  of 
his  fever.  His  face  showed  keen  alarm,  which  he  en- 


88  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

deavored  to  conceal  from  Elaine.  But  her  quick  eye 
had  caught  the  look. 

"  I  must  see  Walter,"  he  exclaimed,  rising  rather 
weakly  and  going  into  the  house. 

How  he  ever  did  it  is  still,  I  think,  a  mystery  to  him, 
but  he  managed  to  pack  up  and,  in  spite  of  the  alter 
nating  fever  and  chills,  made  the  journey  back  to  th? 
city. 

When  at  last  Craig  arrived  at  our  apartment,  it 
must  have  seemed  to  him  that  he  found  me  almost  at 
death's  door.  I  was  terribly  ill  and  weak  by  that  time, 
but  had  refused  to  see  the  doctor  again  and  Johnson 
had  managed  to  get  me  into  bed. 

Ill  himself,  Kennedy  threw  himself  down  for  a  mo 
ment  exhausted.  "  When  did  this  thing  come  on 
Walter?"  he  asked  of  Johnson. 

"  Yesterday,  I  think,  at  least  as  nearly  as  I  can  find 
out,"  replied  our  friend. 

Craig  was  decidedly  worried.  "  There's  only  one 
person  in  New  York  to  call  on,"  he  murmured,  pulling 
himself  out  of  bed  and  getting  into  the  living-room  as 
best  he  could. 

"  Is  that  you,  Godowski  ?  "  he  asked  over  the  tele 
phone.  "  Well,  doctor,  this  is  Kennedy.  Come  over 
to  my  apartment,  quick.  I've  a  case — two  cases  for 
you." 

Godowski  was  a  world-famous  scientist  in  his  line 
and  had  specialized  in  bacteriology,  mainly  in  tropical 
diseases. 

As  Kennedy  hung  up  the  receiver,  he  made  his 
way  back  again  to  the  bedroom,  scratching  his  ear. 
He  noticed  that  I  was  doing  the  same  in  my  delirium. 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        89 

"  Has  Walter  been  scratching  his  ear?  "  he  asked  of 
fohnson. 

Johnson  nodded.  "  That's  strange,"  considered 
Craig  thoughtfully.  "  I've  been  doing  the  same." 

He  turned  back  into  the  living-room  and  for  a  mo 
ment  looked  about.  Finally  his  eye  happened  to  fall  on 
the  telephone  and  an  idea  seemed  to  occur  to  him. 

He  went  over  to  the  instrument  and  unscrewed  the 
receiver.  Carefully  he  looked  inside.  Then  he  looked 
closer.  There  was  something  peculiar  about  it  and  he 
picked  up  a  blank  sheet  of  white  paper,  dusting  off  the 
diaphragm  on  it.  There,  on  the  paper,  were  innumer 
able  little  black  specks. 

Just  then,  outside,  Dr.  Godowski's  car  drew  up  and 
he  jumped  out,  swinging  his  black  bag.  Not  being 
acquainted  with  what  we  were  going  through,  Godo- 
wski  did  not  notice  the  almond-eyed  Chinaman  who 
was  watching  down  the  street. 

"  How  do  you  do,  doctor,"  greeted  Craig  faintly,  at 
the  door. 

"What  seems  to  be  the  difficulty?"  inquired  the 
doctor  eagerly. 

"  I  don't  know,"  returned  Craig,  "  but  I  have  my 
suspicions.  I'm  too  ill  to  verify  them  myself.  So  I've 
called  on  you.  Look  at  Jameson  first,"  he  added. 

While  Godowski  was  examining  me,  Craig  managed 
to  get  out  his  microscope  and  was  looking  through  it 
at  the  strange  black  specks  on  the  paper.  There,  un 
der  the  lens,  he  could  see  the  most  remarkable,  almost 
microscopic  creature,  all  legs  and  feelers,  a  most  vi 
cious  object. 

Weak  though  he  was,  he  could  not  help  an  excla- 


90  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

mation  of  exultation  at  his  discovery,  just  as  Godo- 
wski  had  finished  with  me. 

"  Look !  "  he  cried,  calling  the  doctor.  "  I  know 
what  the  trouble  is,  Godowski." 

He  had  started  to  tell,  but  the  excitement  of  the 
journey  and  the  exertion  were  so  great  that  he  could 
hardly  mumble. 

"  Here — look — on  this  paper,"  he  cried.  "  From 
the  telephone — " 

He  had  risen  and  was  handing  the  paper  to  the 
scientist  when  his  weakness  overcame  him.  He  fell 
flat  on  his  face  on  the  floor  and  dropped  the  paper, 
spilling  the  contents. 

Godowski,  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  bent  over  Craig. 
But  the  delirium  had  overcome  Kennedy,  too. 

Unable  to  make  any  sense  out  of  Craig's  broken 
wanderings,  Godowski  lost  no  time  in  taking  samples 
of  our  blood. 

Then  he  hurried  away  to  his  laboratory  in  his  car 
As  he  did  so,  however,  Long  Sin  leaped  into  a  taxicab 
which  was  waiting  and  followed. 

In  Godowski's  laboratory,  where  he  was  studying 
tropical  diseases,  the  bacteriologist  set  to  work  at  once 
to  confirm  his  own  growing  suspicions. 

From  a  monkey  which  he  had  there  for  experimental 
purposes,  he  drew  off  some  blood  samples.  Then, 
with  the  aid  of  his  assistant,  he  took  the  blood  samples 
he  had  obtained  from  us.  The  monkey's  blood,  under 
the  microscope,  seemed  full  of  rather  elongated  wrig 
gling  germs  of  a  peculiar  species.  In  and  out  they 
made  their  way  among  the  blood  corpuscles  each  like  a 
dart  aimed  at  life  itself. 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        91 

Then  he  took  the  samples  of  our  blood.  In  them 
were  the  same  germs — carried  by  that  gruesome  tick! 

"  The  spirillum !  "  he  muttered.  "  They  are  infected 
with  African  recurrent  fever.  The  only  remedy  is 
atoxyl,  administered  intravenously,  after  the  manner 
of  Professor  Ehrlich's  famous  '  606  '." 

Godowski  had  rung  the  call  box  hastily  for  a  mes 
senger,  when  Long  Sin,  who  had  managed  stealthily  to 
creep  up  to  the  doctor's  laboratory  window,  scowled 
through  at  the  action — then  moved  away. 

While  his  assistant  gathered  the  apparatus,  the  doc 
tor  wrote: 

Miss  ANNE  SEPTIX, 
301  W.  — th  St. 

Please  go  at  once  to  the  apartment  of  Craig  Ken 
nedy, — Claremont  Ave.  Surgical  case. 

GODOWSKI,  M.  D. 

The  boy  arrived  finally  and  the  doctor  gave  him  a 
generous  tip  to  hurry  with  the  note. 

He  had  not  turned  the  corner,  however,  when  Long 
Sin  appeared.  Subtly  he  played  on  the  boy's  cupidity 
to  get  him  to  deliver  a  note  of  his  own,  even  offered 
to  deliver  the  boy's  note  for  him.  The  flash  of  a  five 
dollar  bill  made  the  rest  easy. 

As  the  boy  disappeared  on  a  fake  errand,  Long 
Sin,  with  the  real  note  hurried  down-town,  smiling 
wickedly. 

,  "  They  have  discovered  the  fever,  Master,"  he  re 
ported  in  the  den. 

Wu  was  beside  himself  with  rage.  Before  he  could 
speak,  however,  Long  Sin  spread  out  Godowski's  mes 
sage.  "  But  I  have  this,"  he  added. 


92  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

It  took  merely  a  glance  to  suggest  to  Wu  a  new  plan 
of  action.  He  rose  and  moved  quickly  into  the  back 
room.  "  Come,"  he  ordered  Weepy  Mary.  "  You 
must  dress  up  as  a  nurse — immediately." 

Quickly  she  donned  one  of  the  numerous  disguises 
while  Wu  planned  his  campaign. 

"  Here,"  he  directed  when  she  was  ready,  handing 
her  a  little  vial.  ''  You  must  infect  every  instrument 
the  doctor  uses  on  Kennedy  and  Jameson, — see?  " 

She  nodded  and  a  moment  later  was  on  her  way  up 
town. 

Meanwhile  Godowski  himself  had  arrived  at  our 
apartment,  much  to  the  relief  of  our  friend  Johnson, 
and  was  unpacking  his  instruments. 

Quickly  he  improvised  two  operating  tables,  and 
placed  one  of  us  on  each.  Then,  with  his  assistant, 
he  put  on  his  white  robes,  mask,  gloves  and  other  pre 
cautions  for  asepsis,  setting  out  the  apparatus  for  the 
intravenous  administration  of  the  drug  that  would  kill 
the  spirillum. 

Godowski  was  busy  with  the  atoxyl,  mixing  it  in  a 
normal  salt  solution.  He  would  drop  in  a  few  drops  of 
an  acid,  then  a  few  drops  of  an  alkaline  solution,  so  as 
to  keep  the  mixture  neutral.  Finally,  he  poured  the 
solution  into  a  container,  to  the  bottom  of  which  was 
attached  a  long  tube.  This  container  he  raised  high 
over  our  heads,  clamping  the  tube. 

Then  he  fastened  a  tiny  needle  to  the  end  of  the  tube, 
so  that  it  could  be  inserted  in  our  arms,  catching  skill 
fully  a  vein — a  very  difficult  piece  of  work  in  which 
he  excelled.  The  liquid  would  then  flow  by  the  force 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        93 

of  gravity  from  the  container  down  through  the  tube, 
through  the  hollow  needle  and  into  the  vein  where  it 
would  act  on  the  germs  of  the  fever. 

They  had  finished  their  preparations  and  were  wait 
ing  for  Miss  Septix.  "  She  ought  to  be  here,  now," 
muttered  Godowski  impatiently,  looking  at  his  watch. 

Just  then  a  cab  drove  up  outside. 

"  Perhaps  that  is  she,"  he  exclaimed.  "  It  must 
be." 

A  few  moments  later  the  door  of  the  apartment 
opened.  His  face  showed  his  disappointment.  It  was 
a  stranger. 

"  Miss  Septix  is  ill,"  she  introduced,  "  and  sent  me 
to  take  her  place." 

The  doctor  looked  about.  "  Very  well,  then,"  he 
said  briskly,  seeing  his  preparations.  "  Are  you  ready 
to  go  ahead?  " 

She  nodded  and  threw  off  her  coat  that  covered  her 
immaculate  white  uniform. 

The  specialist  plunged  whole-heartedly  into  his  work 
of  saving  us  now.  "  Hand  me  that  needle,  please,"  he 
directed  the  false  nurse. 

She  moved  over  to  the  table  near-by  and  took  it  up, 
pausing  only  long  enough  to  dip  it  secretly  into  a  vial 
she  carried  with  her. 

"  Please  hurry,"  repeated  the  doctor. 

She  turned  from  the  table  and  handed  it  to  him.  He 
adjusted  it  and  already  held  it  poised  for  the  thrust 
which  was  not  to  cure  but  to  poison  us  further. 

"Weepy  Mary!"  cried  a  frightened  voice  at  our 
door. 


94  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Elaine  had  been  deeply  alarmed  by  the  sudden  ilU 
ness  of  Kennedy  and  the  message  from  Jameson.  No 
sooner  had  Kennedy  gone,  than  it  flashed  over  her 
that  Wu  Fang  had  predicted  something  like  this. 

"  The  threat !  "  she  exclaimed,  seeking  her  cousin. 
"  Mary,  I  must  go  to  the  city — right  away." 

On  the  next  train,  then,  she  had  been  speeding  back 
to  New  York,  and,  arriving  at  the  station,  she  realized 
that  there  was  not  a  moment  to  lose.  She  called  a  cab, 
drove  directly  to  our  apartment,  and  hurried  in,  with 
out  even  ringing  the  bell. 

One  glance  at  the  improvised  hospital  was  enough 
to  alarm  her.  But  the  sight  that  had  transfixed  her 
was  of  a  woman  whose  face  she  remembered  only  too 
well,  though  Kennedy  and  I  had  never  seen  her. 

"  Please,  Miss,"  began  Godowski's  assistant,  trying 
to  quiet  Elaine,  while  Godowski  turned  in  vexation  to 
his  work. 

"  No,  no !  "  repeated  Elaine.  "  This  woman  is  no 
nurse.  She  is  a  criminal !  " 

'  Godowski  paused.  It  was  true  he  did  not  know  the 
woman.  He  gazed  from  Elaine  to  Weepy  Mary  in 
doubt. 

The  game  was  up.  Weepy  Mary  dropped  a  piece  of 
gauze  which  she  had  soaked  in  the  solution  from  the 
vial  which  Wu  had  given  her  and  bolted  for  the  door. 

So  sudden  was  her  flight  that  no  one  was  quick 
enough  to  stop  her.  She  managed  to  reach  the  hall  and 
slam  the  door.  Down  she  rushed  to  the  street,  Godo 
wski's  assistant  after  her. 

There,  awaiting,  was  Long  Sin's  car.  She  leaped  in 
and  was  off  in  a  moment.  The  assistant  had  just  time 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  WU  FANG        95 

to  dive  at  the  running-board.  But  his  grip  was  poor 
and  Long  Sin  easily  threw  him  off. 

"  You — you  fool !  "  he  hissed  at  Mary,  as  soon  as 
the  danger  of  pursuit  was  over  and  the  assistant  had 
gone  back  into  the  apartment. 

"  Oh,  sir,"  she  begged,  "  it  was  not  my  fault.  Miss 
Dodge  came  in — unexpectedly — she  recognized  me. 
If  I  had  not  fled,  they  would  have  caught  me — perhaps 
you,  too." 

Long  Sin  was  furious.  He  threatened  her  and  she 
cowered  back.  However,  there  was  nothing  to  be 
gained  by  that  and  he  subsided  and  drove  quickly 
down-town. 

The  excitement  more  than  ever  alarmed  Elaine  now. 
"  Tell  me,"  she  appealed  to  Dr.  Godowski,  "  what  is 
the  matter?" 

"  In  some  way,"  he  replied  quickly,  "  they  have  be 
come  infected  by  the  bite  of  an  African  tick  which 
carries  spirillum  fever." 

"  She  got  away,  in  a  cab,"  panted  the  assistant,  re 
turning. 

Godowski  raised  his  hands  in  despair.  "  I  was  just 
about  to  start,"  he  cried.  "  Everything  is  ready.  I 
can't  send  for  another  nurse.  Every  minute  counts." 

Elaine  had  thrown  off  her  coat  and  hat.  Her  sleeves 
were  up  in  a  moment  and  before  the  doctor  knew  what 
she  was  about  she  was  scrubbing  her  hands  in  the 
antiseptic  wash. 

"  Only — show  me — what  to  do,"  she  cried.  "  I  will 
be  the  nurse !  " 

Several  days  later,  when  we  had  recovered  suffi- 


^6  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

ciently  from  the  diabolical  attack  that  had  been  made 
upon  us,  Kennedy  was  again  at  work  in  the  laboratory, 
while  I  was  writing.  We  still  felt  rather  weak,  but 
Godowski's  skill  had  pulled  us  out  all  right. 

Our  speaking-tube  sounded  and  I  knew  that  it  was 
Elaine  and  Aunt  Josephine. 

"  How  do  you  feel  ?  "  inquired  Elaine  anxiously,  as 
she  almost  ran  across  the  laboratory  to  Craig. 

"  Fine !  "  he  exaggerated,  brightly. 

"Really?"  she  repeated  anxiously. 

"  Look !  "  he  said,  turning  to  his  microscope. 

He  took  some  blood  from  a  test  tube  in  our  elec 
tric  incubator  and  placed  a  drop  on  a  slide.  It  was 
some  of  the  blood  infected  by  the  germs  carried  by  the 
tick. 

"  That  is  how  our  blood  looked — before  the  new 
nurse  arrived,"  he  smiled,  while  Elaine  looked  at  it 
in  horror. 

Then  he  pricked  his  arm  and  let  a  drop  smear  on 
another  slide. 

"  Now  look  at  that — perfectly  normal,"  he  added. 

"  Oh — I'm  so  glad,"  she  exclaimed  radiantly. 

"  Normal — thanks  to  you.  You  saved  us.  You 
were  just  in  time,"  cried  Craig  taking  both  her  hands 
in  his. 

He  was  about  to  kiss  her,  when  she  broke  away. 
"  Craig,"  she  whispered,  blushing  and  looking  hastily 
at  us. 

Aunt  Josephine  and  I  could  only  smile  at  the  dis 
gusted  glance  Craig  gave  us,  as  he  thrust  his  hands  in 
his  pockets  and  wished  us  a  thousand  miles  away  at 
that  moment. 


CHAPTER  V 

SHADOWS  OF  WAR 

FOR  a  long  time  Kennedy  had,  I  knew,  been  at  work 
at  odd  moments  in  the  laboratory  secretly.  What  it 
was  that  he  was  working  on,  even  I  was  unable  to 
guess,  so  closely  had  he  guarded  his  secret.  But  that 
it  was  something  momentous,  I  was  assured. 

Long  Sin  had  already  been  arrested  and  it  was  a  day 
or  two  after  the  escape  of  Wu  himself  who  had  come 
just  in  time  to  prevent  the  confession  by  one  of  his 
emissaries  of  the  whereabouts  of  his  secret  den.  Ken 
nedy  had  Chase  and  another  detective  whom  he  fre 
quently  employed  on  routine  matters  at  work  over  the 
clues  developed  by  his  use  of  the  sphygmograph. 
Elaine,  anxious  for  news,  had  dropped  in  on  us  at  the 
laboratory  just  as  Kennedy  was  hastily  opening  his 
mail. 

Craig  came  to  a  large  letter  with  an  official  look, 
slit  open  the  envelope,  and  unfolded  the  letter.  "  Hur 
rah  !  "  he  cried,  jumping  up  and  thrusting  the  letter  be 
fore  us.  "  Read  that." 

Across  the  top  of  the  paper  were  embossed  in  blue 
the  formidable  words : 

United  States  Navy  Department, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

97 


98  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

The  letter  was  most  interesting : 

PROFESSOR  CRAIG  KENNEDY, 

The  University,  New  York  City. 
DEAR  SIR, 

Your  telautomatic  torpedo  model  was  tested  yester 
day  and  I  take  great  pleasure  in  stating  that  it  was 
entirely  successful.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  United 
States  is  safe  from  attack  as  long  as  we  retain  its 
secret. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

DANIEL  WATERS, 

Ass't  Sec'y. 

"  Oh,  Craig,"  congratulated  Elaine,  as  she  handed 
back  the  note.  "  I'm  so  glad  for  your  sake.  How 
famous  you  will  be !  " 

"  When  are  we  going  to  see  the  wonderful  inven 
tion,  Craig?"  I  added  as  I  grasped  his  hand  and,  in 
return,  he  almost  broke  the  bones  in  mine  wringing  it. 

"  As  soon  as  you  wish,"  he  replied,  moving  over  to 
the  safe  near-by  and  opening  it.  "  Here's  the  only 
other  model  in  existence  besides  the  model  I  sent  to 
Washington." 

He  held  up  before  us  a  cigar-shaped  affair  of  steel, 
about  eight  inches  long,  with  a  tiny  propeller  and  rud 
der  of  a  size  to  correspond.  Above  was  a  series  of 
wires,  four  or  five  inches  in  length,  which,  he  ex 
plained,  were  the  aerials  by  which  the  torpedo  was 
controlled. 

"  The  principle  of  the  thing,"  he  went  on  proudly, 
"  is  that  I  use  wireless  waves  to  actuate  relays  on  the 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  99 

torpedo.  The  power  is  in  the  torpedo;  the  relay  re 
leases  it.  That  is,  I  send  a  child  with  a  message;  the 
grown  man,  through  the  relay,  does  the  work.  So,  you 
see,  I  can  sit  miles  away  in  safety  and  send  my  little 
David  out  anywhere  to  strike  down  a  huge  Goliath." 

It  was  not  difficult  to  catch  his  enthusiasm  over  the 
marvellous  invention,  though  we  could  not  follow  him 
through  the  mazes  of  explanation  about  radio-combi- 
nators,  telecommutators  and  the  rest  of  the  technical 
ities.  I  may  say,  however,  that  on  his  radio-combi- 
nator  he  had  a  series  of  keys  marked  "  Forward," 
"  Back,"  "  Start,"  "  Stop,"  "'Rudder  Right,"  "  Rud 
der  Left,"  and  so  on. 

He  had  scarcely  finished  his  brief  description  when 
there  came  a  knock  at  the  door.  I  answered  it.  It 
was  Chase  and  his  assistant,  whom  Kennedy  had  em 
ployed  in  the  affair. 

"  We've  found  the  place  on  Pell  Street  that  we  think 
is  Wu  Fang's,"  they  reported  excitedly.  "  It's  in  num 
ber  fourteen,  as  you  thought.  We've  left  an  operative 
disguised  as  a  blind  beggar  to  watch  the  place." 

"  Oh,  good ! "  exclaimed  Elaine,  as  Craig  and  I 
hurried  out  after  Chase  and  his  man  with  her.  "  May 
I  go  with  you  ?  " 

"  Really,  Elaine,"  objected  Craig,  "  I  don't  think  it's 
safe.  There's  no  telling  what  may  happen.  In  fact, 
I  think  Walter  and  I  had  better  not  be  seen  there  even 
with  Chase." 

She  pouted  and  pleaded,  but  Craig  was  obdurate. 
Finally  she  consented  to  wait  for  us  at  home  provided 
we  brought  her  the  news  at  the  earliest  moment  and 
demonstrated  the  wonderful  torpedo  as  well.  Craig 


ioo  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

was  only  too  glad  to  promise  and  we  waved  good-bye 
as  her  car  whisked  her  off. 

Half  an  hour  later  we  turned  into  Chinatown  from 
the  shadow  of  the  elevated  railroad  on  Chatham 
Square,  doing  our  best  to  affect  a  Bowery  slouch. 

We  had  not  gone  far  before  we  came  to  the  blind 
beggar.  He  was  sitting  by  number  fourteen  with  a 
sign  on  his  breast,  grinding  industriously  at  a  small 
barrel  organ  before  him  on  which  rested  a  tin 
cup. 

We  passed  him  and  Kennedy  took  out  a  coin  from 
his  pocket  and  dropped  it  into  the  cup.  As  he  did  so, 
he  thrust  his  hand  into  the  cup  and  quickly  took  out  a 
piece  of  paper  which  he  palmed. 

The  blind  beggar  thanked  and  blessed  us,  and  we 
dodged  into  a  doorway  where  Kennedy  opened  the 
paper :  "  Wu  Fang  gone  out." 

"What  shall  we  do?  "  I  asked. 

"  Go  in  anyhow,"  decided  Kennedy  quickly. 

We  left  the  shelter  of  the  doorway  and  walked 
boldly  up  to  the  door.  Deftly  Kennedy  forced  it  and 
we  entered. 

We  had  scarcely  mounted  the  stairs  to  the  den  of 
the  Serpent,  when  a  servant  in  a  back  room,  hearing  a 
noise,  stuck  his  head  in  the  door.  Kennedy  and  I 
made  a  dash  at  him  and  quickly  overpowered  him, 
snapping  the  bracelets  on  his  wrists. 

"  Watch  him,  Walter,"  directed  Craig  as  he  made 
his  way  into  the  back  room. 


In  the  devious  plots  and  schemes  of  Wu  Fang,  his 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  101 

nefarious  work  had  brought  him  into  contact  not  only 
with  criminals  of  the  lowest  order  but  with  those  high 
up  in  financial  and  diplomatic  circles. 

Thus  it  happened  that  at  such  a  crisis  as  Kennedy 
had  brought  about  for  him  Wu  had  suddenly  been 
called  out  of  the  city  and  had  received  an  order  from 
a  group  of  powerful  foreign  agents  known  secretly 
as  the  Intelligence  Office  to  meet  an  emissary  at  a  cer 
tain  rocky  promontory  on  the  Connecticut  shore  of 
Long  Island  Sound  the  very  day  after  Kennedy's  little 
affair  with  him  in  the  laboratory  and  the  day  before 
the  letter  from  Washington  arrived. 

Though  he  was  mortally  afraid  of  Kennedy's  pur 
suit,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  obey  this  imperative 
summons.  Quietly  he  slipped  out  of  town,  the  more 
readily  when  he  realized  that  the  summons  would  take 
him  not  far  from  the  millionaire  cottage  colony  where 
Elaine  had  her  summer  home,  which,  however,  she 
had  not  yet  opened. 

There,  on  the  rocky  shore,  he  sat  gazing  out  at  the 
waves,  waiting,  when  suddenly,  from  around  the 
promontory,  came  a  boat  rowed  by  two  stalwart  sail 
ors.  It  carried  as  passengers  two  dark-complexioned, 
dark-haired  men,  foreigners  evidently,  though  care 
fully  dressed  so  as  to  conceal  both  their  identity  and 
nationality. 

As  the  boat  came  up  to  a  strip  of  sandy  beach  among 
the  rocks,  the  sailors  held  it  while  their  two  passengers 
jumped  out.  Then  they  rowed  away  as  quickly  as  they 
had  come. 

The  two  mysterious  strangers  saluted  Wu. 

"  We  are  under  orders  from  the  Intelligence  Office," 


102  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

introduced  one  who  seemed  to  be  the  leader,  "  to  get 
this  American,  Kennedy." 

A  subtle  smile  overspread  Wu's  face.  He  said  noth 
ing  but  this  adventure  promised  to  serve  more  than  one 
end. 

"  Information  has  just  come  to  us,"  the  stranger 
went  on,  "  that  Kennedy  has  invented  a  new  wireless 
automatic  torpedo.  Already  a  letter  is  on  its  way  in 
forming  him  that  it  has  been  accepted  by  the  Navy." 

The  other  man  who  had  been  drawing  a  cigar-shaped 
outline  on  the  wet  sand  looked  up.  "  We  must  get 
those  models,"  he  put  in,  adding,  "  both  of  them — the 
one  he  has  and  that  the  government  has.  Can  it  be 
done?" 

"  I  can  get  them,"  answered  Wu  sinisterly. 

And  so,  while  Kennedy  was  drawing  together  the 
net  about  Wu,  that  wily  criminal  had  already  planned 
an  attack  on  him  in  an  unexpected  quarter. 

Down  in  Washington  the  very  morning  that  our  pur 
suit  of  Wu  came  to  a  head,  the  officials  of  the  navy  de 
partment,  both  naval  and  civil,  were  having  the  final 
conference  at  which  they  were  to  accept  officially  Ken 
nedy's  marvellous  invention  which,  it  was  confidently 
believed,  would  ultimately  make  war  impossible. 

Seated  about  a  long  table  in  one  of  the  board  rooms 
were  not  only  the  officers  but  the  officials  of  the  de* 
partment  whose  sanction  was  necessary  for  the  final 
step.  By  a  window  sat  a  stenographer  who  was  tran 
scribing,  as  they  were  taken,  the  notes  of  the  momen 
tous  meeting. 

They  had  just  completed  the  examination  of  the  tor 
pedo  and  laid  it  on  the  end  of  the  table  scarcely  an 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  103 

arm's  length  from  the  stenographer.  As  he  finished  a 
page  of  notes  he  glanced  quickly  at  his  watch.  It  was 
exactly  three  o'clock. 

Hastily  he  reached  over  for  the  torpedo  and  with 
one  swift,  silent  movement  tossed  it  out  of  the  window. 

Down  below,  in  a  clump  of  rhododendrons,  for  sev 
eral  moments  had  been  crouching  one  of  the  men  who 
had  borne  the  orders  to  Wu  Fang  at  the  strange  meet 
ing  on  the  promontory. 

His  eyes  seemed  riveted  at  the  window  above  him. 
Suddenly  the  supreme  moment  for  which  this  dastardly 
plot  had  been  timed  came.  As  the  torpedo  model 
dropped  from  the  window,  he  darted  forward,  caught 
it,  turned,  and  in  an  instant  he  was  gone. 

Wu  Fang  himself  had  returned  after  setting  in  mo 
tion  the  forces  which  he  found  necessary  to  call  to  aid 
the  foreign  agents  in  their  plots  against  Kennedy's 
torpedo. 

As  Wu  approached  the  door  of  his  den  and  was 
about  to  enter,  his  eye  fell  on  our  outpost,  the  blind 
beggar.  Instantly  his  suspicions  were  aroused.  He 
looked  the  beggar  over  with  a  frown,  thought  a  mo 
ment,  then  turned  and  instead  of  entering  went  up  the 
street. 

He  made  the  circuit  of  the  block  and  now  came  to 
an  alley  on  the  next  street  that  led  back  of  the  building 
in  which  he  had  his  den.  Still  frowning,  he  gazed 
about,  saw  that  he  was  not  followed,  and  entered  a 
doorway. 

Up  the  stairs  he  made  his  way  until  he  came  to  an 
empty  loft.  Quickly  he  went  over  to  the  blank  wall 


104  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

and  began  feeling  cautiously  about  as  if  for  a  secret 
spring  hidden  in  the  plaster. 

"  No  one  in  the  back  room,"  said  Kennedy  rejoin 
ing  me  in  the  den  itself  with  the  prisoner.  "  He's  out, 
all  right." 

Before  Craig  was  a  mirror.  As  he  looked  into  it,  at 
an  angle,  he  could  see  a  part  of  the  decorations  of  the 
wall  behind  him  actually  open  out.  For  an  instant  the 
evil  face  of  Wu  Fang  appeared. 

Without  a  word,  Craig  walked  into  the  back  room. 
As  he  did  so,  Wu  Fang,  knife  in  hand,  stealthily 
opened  the  sliding  panel  its  full  length  and  noiselessly 
entered  the  room  behind  me.  With  knife  upraised  for 
instant  action  he  moved  closer  and  closer  to  me.  He 
had  almost  reached  me  and  paused  to  gloat  as  he 
poised  the  knife  ready  to  strike,  when  I  heard  a  shout 
from  Kennedy,  and  a  scuffle. 

Craig  had  leaped  out  from  behind  a  screen  near  the 
doorway  to  the  back  room  where  he  had  hidden  to 
lure  Wru  on.  With  a  powerful  grasp,  he  twisted  the 
knife  from  Wu's  hand  and  it  fell  with  a  clatter  on  the 
floor.  I  was  at  Wu  myself  an  instant  later.  He  was 
a  powerful  fighter,  but  we  managed  to  snap  the  hand 
cuffs  on  him  finally,  also. 

"  Walter,"  panted  Kennedy  straightening  nimself 
out  after  the  fracas,  "  I'll  stay  here  with  the  prisoners. 
Go  get  the  police." 

I  hurried  out  and  rushed  down  the  street  seeking  an 
officer. 

Up  in  the  den,  Wu  Fang,  silent,  stood  with  his  back 
to  the  wall,  scowling  sullenly.  Close  beside  him  hung 
a  sort  of  bell-cord,  just  out  of  reach.  Kennedy,  re- 


SHADOWS ,  OF  WAR  105 

volver  in  hand,  was  examining  the  writing-table  to 
discover  whatever  evidence  he  could.  Slowly,  imper 
ceptibly,  inch  by  inch,  Wu  moved  toward  the  bell-cord. 
He  was  reaching  out  with  his  manacled  hands  to  seize 
it  when  Kennedy,  alert,  turned,  saw  him,  and  instantly 
shot.  Wu  literally  crumpled  up  and  dropped  to  the 
floor  as  Craig  bounded  over  to  him. 

By  this  time  I  had  found  a  policeman  and  he  had 
summoned  the  wagon  from  the  Elizabeth  Street  sta 
tion,  a  few  blocks  away.  As  we  drove  up  before  the 
den,  I  leaped  out  and  the  police  followed. 

Imagine  my  surprise  at  seeing  Wu  stretched  on  the 
floor.  Kennedy  had  tried  to  staunch  the  flow  of  blood 
from  a  wound  on  \Vu's  shoulder  with  a  handkerchief 
and  now  was  making  a  temporary  bandage  which  he 
bound  on  him. 

"How  are  you,  sergeant?"  nodded  Kennedy. 
"  Well,  I  guess  you'll  admit  I  made  good  this  time." 

The  sergeant  smiled,  recalling  a  previous  occasion 
when  the  slippery  Wu  had  squirmed  through  our  fin 
gers. 

Kennedy's  restless  eye  fell  on  the  bell-rope  which 
had  caused  the  trouble.  Somehow,  he  seemed  to  have 
an  irresistible  desire  to  pull  that  rope.  He  gazed  about 
the  room. 

"  Walter,  you  and  the  sergeant  take  the  prisoners 
into  the  next  room,"  he  said.  "  I  want  to  see  what  this 
thing  really  is." 

We  moved  Wu  and  his  servant  and  stood  in  the 
doorway.  Craig  gave  the  rope  a  yank. 

Instantly  there  was  an  explosion.  A  concealed  shot 
gun  in  the  wall  fired,  scattering  shot  all  over  the  front 


106  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

of  Wu's  table,  just  where  we  had  been  standing,  knock 
ing  over  and  breaking  vases,  scattering  papers  and  in 
general  wrecking  everything  before  it. 

"  So,  that's  it,"  whistled  Craig.  "  You  fellows  can 
come  back  now.  Two  of  you  men  I'm  going  to  leave 
here  to  watch  the  place  and  make  other  arrests  if  you 
can.  Come  on." 

With  Kennedy  I  left  the  tenement  while  the  sergeant 
marched  the  prisoners  out,  and  we  drove  off  with  them. 
Quite  a  crowd  had  collected  outside  by  the  time  we 
came  out.  Among  them,  naturally,  were  many  China 
men,  and  we  could  not  see  two  of  them  hiding  behind 
the  rest  on  the  outskirts,  jabbering  in  low  tones  to 
gether  and  making  hasty  plans.  As  we  clanged  away 
down  the  street  they  followed  more  slowly  on  foot. 

Common  humanity  dictated  that  we  take  Wu  first  of 
all  to  a  hospital  and  get  him  fixed  up  and  to  a  hospital 
we  went.  Kennedy  and  I  entered  with  our  prisoners, 
closely  guarded  by  the  police. 

Craig  handed  Wu  over  to  two  young  doctors  and  a 
nurse.  By  this  time  Wu  was  very  weak  from  loss  of 
blood.  Still  he  had  his  iron  nerve  and  that  was  carry 
ing  him  through.  The  two  young  doctors  and  the 
nurse  had  scarcely  begun  to  take  off  Craig's  rude  band 
age  to  replace  it  properly,  when  a  noise  outside  told 
us  that  a  weeping  and  gesticulating  delegation  of 
Chinese  had  arrived. 

"  Keep  'em  back,"  called  one  of  the  doctors  to  an 
attendant. 

The  attendant  tried  to  drive  them  away,  but  nothing 
could  force  them  back  more  than  an  inch  or  two  as, 
in  broken  English,  they  sought  to  find  out  how  Wu 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  107 

was.  Their  importunity  proved  too  much  for  only 
one  attendant.  Still  gibbering  and  gesticulating,  the 
crowd  brushed  past  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  mere  reed. 
The  attendant  raged  about  until  he  lost  his  head.  But 
it  was  no  use.  There  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but 
to  follow  them  in. 

Kennedy  by  this  time  had  finished  talking  to  the 
doctors  and  handing  Wu  over  to  them.  They  had 
taken  him  into  a  room  in  the  dispensary.  Just  then 
the  chattering  crowd  pushed  in,  some  asking  questions, 
others  bewailing  the  fate  of  the  great  Wu  Fang.  They 
were  so  insistent  that  at  last  one  of  the  doctors  was 
forced  to  demand  that  the  police  drive  them  out.  They 
started  to  push  them  back. 

In  the  melee,  one  of  their  number  managed  to  get 
away  from  the  rest  and  reach  the  doorway  to  the  emer 
gency  room.  He  was,  as  we  found  out  later,  dressed 
almost  precisely  like  Wu,  although  he  had  on  a  some 
what  different  cap.  In  build  and  size  as  well  as  fea 
tures  he  was  a  veritable  Dromio. 

The  other  Chinaman  drew  back  behind  the  screen 
which  hid  the  doorway  to  the  emergency  room  and  con 
cealed  himself. 

Meanwhile,  Kennedy  and  I  were  laughing  at  the 
truly  ludicrous  antics  of  the  astounded  Celestials, 
thunderstruck  at  the  capture  of  the  peerless  leader, 
while  the  police  forced  them  back. 

"  Well,  good-bye,"  nodded  Craig  to  the  first  doctor 
and  nurse  who  had  attended  Wu  Fang  outside. 

"  Good-bye.  WTe'll  fix  him  up  and  take  good  care 
that  he  doesn't  cheat  the  law,"  they  said,  with  a  nod  to 
the  sergeant. 


io8  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 


In  the  emergency  room,  Wu  was  placed  on  an  oper 
ating  table  and  there  was  bound  up  properly,  though 
he  was  terribly  weak  now. 

Back  of  the  screen,  however,  the  other  Chinaman 
was  hiding,  able  to  get  an  occasional  glance  at  what  was 
going  on.  There  happened  to  be  a  table  near  him  on 
which  were  gauze,  cotton  and  other  things.  He 
reached  over  and  took  the  gauze  and  quickly  made  it 
into  a  bandage,  keeping  one  eye  on  the  bandaging  of 
Wu.  Then  he  placed  the  bandage  over  his  own  shoul 
der  and  arm  in  the  same  way  that  he  saw  the  doctors 
doing  with  Wu. 

They  had  finished  with  Wu  and  one  of  the  doctors 
moved  over  to  the  doorway  to  call  the  sergeant.  For 
the  moment  the  rest  had  left  Wu  alone,  his  eyes  appar 
ently  half  closed  through  weakness.  Each  was  busy 
about  his  own  especial  task. 

From  behind  the  screen  which  was  only  a  few  feet 
from  the  operating  table,  the  secreted  Chinaman 
stepped  out.  Quickly  he  placed  his  own  hat  on  Wu 
and  took  Wu's,  then  took  Wu's  place  on  the  table  while 
Wu  slipped  behind  the  screen. 

The  doctor  turned  to  the  supposed  Wu.  "  Come 
now,"  he  ordered,  handing  him  over  to  the  police. 
"  Here  he  is  at  last." 

The  sergeant  started  to  lead  the  prisoner  out.  As  he 
did  so,  he  looked  sharply  at  him.  He  could  scarcely 
believe  his  eyes.  There  was  something  wrong.  All 
Chinaman  might  look  alike  to  some  people  but  not  to 
him. 

"  That's  not  Wu  Fang!  "  he  exclaimed. 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  109 

Instantly  there  was  the  greatest  excitement.  The 
doctors  were  astounded  as  all  rushed  into  the  emer 
gency  room  again.  One  of  them  looked  behind  the 
screen.  There  was  an  open  window. 

"  That's  how  he  got  away,"  he  cried. 

Meanwhile,  several  blocks  from  the  hospital,  Wu, 
still  weak  but  more  than  ever  nerved  up,  came  out  of 
his  place  of  concealment,  gazed  up  and  down  the  street, 
and,  seeing  no  one  following,  hurried  away  from  the 
hospital  as  fast  as  his  shaky  legs  would  bear  him. 

Confident  that  at  last  our  arch  enemy  was  safely 
landed  in  the  hands  of  the  police,  Kennedy  and  I  had 
left  the  hospital  and  were  hastening  to  Elaine  with  the 
news.  We  stopped  at  the  laboratory  only  long  enough 
to  get  the  torpedo  from  the  safe  and  at  a  toy  store 
where  Craig  bought  a  fine  little  clockwork  battleship. 

We  found  Elaine  and  Avnt  Josephine  in  the  con 
servatory  and  quickly  Kennedy  related  how  we  had 
captured  Wu. 

But,  like  all  inventors,  his  pet  was  the  torpedo  and 
soon  we  were  absorbed  in  his  description  of  it.  As 
he  unwrapped  it,  Elaine  drew  back,  timidly,  from  the 
fearful  engine  of  destruction. 

Kennedy  smiled.  "  No,  it  isn't  dangerous,"  he  said 
reassuringly.  "  I've  removed  its  charge  and  put  in  a 
percussion  cap.  Let  me  show  you,  on  a  small  scale, 
how  it  works,"  he  added,  winding  up  the  battleship  and 
placing  it  in  the  fountain. 

Next  he  placed  the  torpedo  in  the  water  at  the  other 
end  of  the  tank.  "  Come  over  here,"  he  said,  indicat 
ing  to  us  to  follow  him  into  the  palms. 


no  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

There  he  had  placed  the  strange  wireless  apparatus 
which  controlled  the  torpedo.  He  pressed  a  lever.  We 
peered  out  through  the  fronds  of  the  palms.  That 
uncanny  little  cigar-shaped  thing  actually  started  to 
move  over  the  surface  of  the  water. 

"Of  course  I  could  make  it  dive,"  explained  Craig, 
"  but  I  want  you  to  see  it  work." 

Around  the  tank  it  went,  turned,  cut  a  figure  eight, 
as  Kennedy  manipulated  the  levers.  Then  it  headed 
straight  toward  the  battleship.  It  struck.  There  was 
a  loud  report,  a  spurt  of  water.  One  of  the  skeleton 
masts  fell  over.  The  battleship  heeled  over,  and  slowly 
sank,  bow  first. 

"  Wonderful !  "  exclaimed  Elaine.  "  That  was  very 
realistic." 

We  brushed  our  way  out  through  the  thick  palms, 
congratulating  Kennedy  on  the  perfect  success  of  his 
demonstration. 

So  astonished  were  we  ihat  we  did  not  hear  the  door 
bell  ring.  Jennings  ans  vered  it  and  admitted  two  men. 

"Is  Professor  Kennedy  here?"  asked  one.  "We 
have  been  to  his  apartment  and  to  the  laboratory." 

"  I'll  see,"  said  Jennings  discretely,  taking  the  card 
of  one  of  them  and  leaving  them  in  the  drawing-room. 

"Two  gentlemen  to  see  you,  Mr.  Kennedy,"  Jen 
nings  interrupted  our  congratulations,  handing  Craig 
a  card.  "  Shall  I  tell  them  you  are  here,  sir?  " 

Craig  glanced  at  the  card.  "  I  wonder  what  that  can 
be?  "  he  said,  turning  the  card  toward  us. 

It  was  engraved : 

W.  R.  Barnes 

U.  S.  Secret  Service. 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  in 

"  Yes,  I'll  see  them,"  he  said,  then  to  us,  "  Please  ex 
cuse  me?  " 

Elaine,  Aunt  Josephine  and  I  strolled  off  in  the 
palms  toward  the  Fifth  Avenue  side,  while  Jennings 
went  out  toward  the  back  of  the  house. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,"  greeted  Kennedy  as  he  met  the 
two  detectives,  "  what  can  I  do  for  you?" 

The  leader  looked  about,  then  leaned  over  and  whis 
pered,  "  We've  just  had  word,  Professor,  that  your 
model  of  the  torpedo  has  been  stolen  from  the  Navy 
Department  in  Washington." 

"  Stolen?"  repeated  Kennedy,  staring  aghast. 

"  Yes.  We  fear  that  an  agent  of  a  foreign  govern 
ment  has  found  a  traitor  in  the  department." 

Rapidly  Kennedy's  mind  pictured  what  might  be 
done  with  the  deadly  weapon  in  the  hands  of  an  enemy. 

"  And,"  added  the  Secret  Service  man,  "  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  this  foreign  agent  is  using  a 
Chinaman,  Wu  Fang." 

"  But  Wu  has  been  arrested,"  replied  Craig.  "  I 
arrested  him  myself.  The  police  have  him  now." 

"  Then  you  don't  know  of  his  escape?  " 

Kennedy  could  only  stare  as  they  told  the  story. 

Suddenly,  down  the  hall,  came  cries  of,  "Help! 
Help!" 


While  Craig  was  showing  us  the  torpedo,  the  crim 
inal  machinery  which  Wu  had  set  in  motion  at  orders 
from  the  foreign  agents  was  working  rapidly. 

Outside  the  Dodge  house,  a  man  had  shadowed  us. 
He  waited  until  we  went  in,  then  slunk  in  himself  by 


H2  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

the  back  way  and  climbed  through  an  open  window  into 
the  cellar. 

Quietly  he  made  his  way  up  through  the  cellar  until 
finally  he  reached  the  library.  Listening  carefully  he 
could  hear  us  talking  in  the  conservatory.  Stealthily 
he  moved  out  of  the  library. 

We  had  left  the  conservatory  when  he  entered,  peer 
ing  through  the  palms.  On  he  stole  till  he  came  to  the 
fountain.  He  looked  about.  There,  bobbing  up  and 
down,  was  the  model  of  the  torpedo  for  which  he  had 
dared  so  much.  He  picked  it  up  and  looked  at  it, 
gloating. 

The  crook  was  about  to  move  back  toward  the  li 
brary,  hugging  the  precious  model  close  to  himself 
when  he  heard  Jennings  coming.  He  started  back  to 
the  conservatory.  Jennings  entered  just  in  time  to 
catch  a  fleeting  glimpse  of  some  one.  His  suspicions 
were  roused  and  he  followed. 

The  crook  reached  the  conservatory  and  opened  a 
glass  window  leading  out  into  the  little  garden  beside 
the  house.  He  was  about  to  step  out  when  the  sound 
of  voices  in  the  garden  arrested  him.  Elaine,  Aunt 
Josephine  and  I  had  gone  out  and  Elaine  was  showing 
me  a  new  rose  which  had  just  been  sent  her. 

The  crook  fell  back  and  dropped  down  behind  the 
palms.  Jennings  looked  about,  but  saw  no  one  and 
stood  there  puzzled.  Then  the  crook,  fearing  that  he 
might  be  captured  at  any  moment,  looked  about  to  see 
where  he  might  hide  the  torpedo.  There  did  not  seem 
to  be  any  place.  Quickly  he  began  to  dig  out  the  earth 
in  one  of  the  palm  pots.  He  dropped  the  torpedo, 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  113 

wrapped  still  in  the  handkerchief,  into  the  hole  and 
covered  it  up. 

Jennings  was  clearly  puzzled.  He  had  seen  some  one 
rush  in,  but  the  conservatory  was  apparently  empty. 
He  had  just  turned  to  go  out  when  he  saw  a  palm 
move.  There  was  a  face !  He  made  a  dive  for  it  and 
in  a  moment  both  he  and  the  crook  were  rolling  over 
and  over. 


Kennedy  and  the  Secret  Service  men  were  talking 
earnestly  when  they  heard  the  cry  for  help  and  the 
scuffle.  They  rushed  out  and  into  the  conservatory  in 
time  to  see  the  crook,  who  had  broken  away,  knock  out 
Jennings.  He  sprang  to  his  feet  and  darted  away. 

Kennedy's  mind  was  working  rapidly.  Had  the  man 
been  after  the  other  model?  The  detectives  went  after 
him.  But  Craig  went  for  the  torpedo.  As  he  looked 
in  the  tank,  it  was  gone !  He  turned  and  followed  the 
crook. 

I  was  still  in  the  garden  with  Elaine  and  Aunt 
Josephine  when  I  heard  sounds  of  a  struggle  and  a  mo 
ment  later  a  man  emerged  through  the  window  of  the 
conservatory  followed  by  two  other  men.  I  went  for 
him,  but  he  managed  to  elude  me  and  dashed  for  the 
wall  in  the  back  of  the  garden.  The  Secret  Service 
men  fired  at  him  but  he  kept  on.  A  moment  later 
Craig  came  through  the  window. 

"  Did  any  of  you  take  the  torpedo?  "  he  asked. 

"  No,"  replied  Elaine,  "  we  left  it  just  as  you  had 
it" 

Kennedy  seemed  wild  with  anxiety.     "  Then  both 

8 


1 14  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

models  have  been  stolen !  "  he  cried,  dashing  after  the 
Secret  Service  men  with  me  close  behind. 

The  crook  by  this  time  had  reached  the  top  of  the 
wall.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  let  himself  down  safely 
on  the  other  side,  a  shot  struck  him.  He  pitched  over 
and  we  ran  forward. 

But  he  had  just  enough  of  a  start.  In  spite  of  the 
shock  and  the  wound  he  managed  to  pick  himself  up 
and  with  the  help  of  a  confederate  hobbled  into  a  wait 
ing  car,  which  sped  away  just  as  we  came  over  the  wall. 

We  dropped  to  the  ground  just  as  another  car  ap 
proached.  Craig  commandeered  it  from  its  astonished 
driver,  the  Secret  Service  men  and  I  piled  in  and  we 
were  off  in  a  few  seconds  in  hot  pursuit. 

Down  at  the  terminal  where  trains  came  in  from 
Washington,  Wu,  much  better  now,  was  waiting. 

He  had  pulled  a  long  coat  over  his  Chinese  clothes 
and  wore  a  slouch  hat.  As  he  looked  at  the  incoming 
passengers  he  spied  the  man  he  was  waiting  for,  the 
young  crook  who  had  been  waiting  in  the  shrubbery 
outskle  the  Navy  Building  when  the  torpedo  model  was 
thrown  out. 

The  man  had  the  model  carefully  wrapped  up,  un 
der  his  arm.  As  his  eye  travelled  over  the  crowd  he 
recognized  Wu  but  did  not  betray  it.  He  walked  by 
and,  as  he  passed,  hastily  handed  Wu  the  package  con 
taining  the  model.  Wu  slipped  it  under  his  coat. 
Then  each  went  his  way,  in  opposite  directions. 

It  was  a  close  race  between  the  car  bearing  the  two 
crooks  and  that  which  Kennedy  had  impressed  into 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  115 

service,  but  we  kept  on  up  through  the  city  and  out 
across  the  country,  into  Connecticut. 

Time  and  again  they  almost  got  away  until  it  be 
came  a  question  of  following  tire  tracks.  Once  we 
came  to  a  cross-road  and  Kennedy  stopped  and  leaped 
out.  Deeply  planted  in  the  mud,  he  could  see  the  tracks 
of  the  car  ahead  leading  out  by  the  left  road.  Close 
beside  the  tire  tracks  were  the  footprints  of  two  men 
going  up  the  right  hand  road  toward  the  Sound. 

"  You  follow  the  car  and  the  driver,"  decided  Craig, 
hastily  indicating  the  road  by  which  it  had  gone.  "  I'll 
follow  the  footprints." 

The  Secret  Service  men  jumped  back  into  the  car 
and  Kennedy  and  I  went  along  the  shore  road  follow 
ing  the  two  crooks. 

Already  the  wounded  crook,  supported  by  his  pal, 
had  made  his  way  down  to  the  water  and  had  come  to 
a  long  wharf.  There,  near  the  land-end,  they  had  a 
secret  hiding-place  into  which  they  went.  The  other 
crook  drew  forth  a  smoke  signal  and  began  to  prepare 
it. 

Kennedy  and  I  were  able,  now,  to  move  faster  than 
they.  As  we  came  in  sight  of  the  wharf,  Kennedy 
paused. 

"  There  they  are,  two  of  them,"  he  indicated. 

I  could  just  make  them  out  in  their  hiding-place. 
The  fellow  who  had  stolen  the  torpedo  was  by  this 
time  so  weak  from  loss  of  blood  that  he  could  hardly 
hold  his  head  up,  while  the  other  hurried  to  fix  the 
smoke  signal.  He  happened  to  glance  up,  and  saw  us. 

"  Come,  Red,  brace  up,"  he  muttered.  "  They're  on 
our  trail." 


Ii6  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

The  wounded  man  was  almost  too  weak  to  answer. 
"  I— I  can't,"  he  gasped  weakly,  "  You— go."  Then, 
with  a  great  effort,  remembering  the  mission  on  which 
he  had  been  sent,  he  whispered  hoarsely,  "  I  hid  the 
second  torpedo  model  in  the  Dodge  house  in  the  bot 
tom  of—  He  tried  hard  to  finish,  but  he  was  too 
weak.  He  fell  back,  dead. 

His  pal  had  waited  as  long  as  he  dared  to  learn  the 
secret.  He  jumped  up  and  ran  out  just  as  we  burst 
into  the  hiding-place. 

Kennedy  dropped  down  by  the  dead  man  and 
searched  him,  while  I  dashed  after  the  other  fellow. 
But  I  was  not  so  well  acquainted  with  the  lay  of  the 
land  as  he  and,  before  I  knew  it,  he  had  darted  into 
another  of  his  numerous  hiding-places.  I  hunted  about, 
but  I  had  lost  the  track. 

When  I  returned,  I  found  Kennedy  writing  a  hasty 
note. 

"  I  couldn't  follow  him,  Craig,"  I  confessed. 

"  Too  bad,"  frowned  Craig  evidently  greatly  wor 
ried  by  what  had  happened,  as  he  folded  the  note. 
"  Walter,"  he  added  seriously,  "  I  want  you  to  go  find 
the  fellow."  He  handed  me  the  note.  "  And  if  any 
thing  separates  us  to-day — give  this  note  to  Elaine." 

I  did  not  pay  much  attention  to  the  tone  he  assumed, 
but  often  afterward  I  pondered  over  it  and  the  serious 
and  troubled  look  on  his  face.  I  was  too  chagrined  at 
losing  my  man  to  think  much  of  it  then.  I  took  the 
note  and  hurried  out  again  after  him. 

Meanwhile,  as  nearly  as  I  can  now  make  out,  Ken 
nedy  searched  the  dead  man  again.  There  was  cer 
tainly  no  clue  to  his  identity  on  him,  nor  had  he  the 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  117 

torpedo  model.  Craig  looked  about.  Suddenly,  he 
fell  flat  on  his  stomach. 

There  was  Wu  Fang  himself,  coming  to  the  wharf, 
carrying  the  model  of  the  torpedo  which  had  been 
stolen  in  Washington  and  brought  up  to  him  by  his 
emissary. 

Kennedy,  crouching  down  and  taking  advantage  of 
every  object  that  sheltered  him,  crawled  cautiously  into 
an  angle.  Unsuspecting,  Wu  came  to  the  land-end 
of  the  wharf. 

There  he  saw  his  lieutenant,  dead — and  the  smoke 
signal  still  beside  him,  unlighted.  He  bent  over  in 
amazement  and  examined  the  man. 

From  his  hiding-place  Kennedy  crept  stealthily.  He 
had  scarcely  got  within  reach  of  Wu  when  the  alert 
Chinaman  seemed  to  sense  his  presence.  He  rose 
quickly  and  swung  around. 

The  two  arch  enemies  gazed  at  each  other  a  moment 
silently.  Each  knew  it  was  the  final,  fatal  encounter. 

Slowly  Wu  drew  a  long  knife  and  leaped  at  Ken 
nedy  who  grappled  with  him.  They  struggled  merci 
lessly. 

In  the  struggle,  Craig  managed  to  tear  the  torpedo 
out  of  Wu's  hands,  just  as  they  rolled  over.  It  fell 
on  a  rock.  Instantly  an  explosion  tore  a  hole  in  the 
sand,  scattering  the  gravel  all  about. 

Relentlessly  the  combat  raged.  Out  on  the  wharf 
itself  they  went,  right  up  to  the  edge. 

Then  both  went  over  into  the  water,  locked  in  each 
other's  vice-like  grip. 

Even  in  the  water,  they  struggled,  frantically. 


n8  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

My  search  for  the  escaped  crook  was  unsuccessful. 

Somehow,  however,  it  led  me  across  country  to  a 
road.  As  I  approached,  I  heard  a  car  and  looked  up. 
There  were  the  Secret  Service  men.  I  called  them  and 
stepped  out  of  the  bushes.  They  stopped  and  jumped 
out  of  the  car  and  I  ran  to  them. 

"  Come  back  with  me,"  I  urged.  "  We  found  two 
of  them.  One  is  dead.  Craig  sent  me  to  trace  the 
other.  I've  lost  the  trail.  Perhaps  you  can  find  it  for 
me." 

We  crashed  through  the  brush  quickly.  Suddenly  I 
heard  something  that  caused  me  to  start.  It  sounded 
like  an  explosion. 

"  There's  the  place — over  there,"  I  pointed,  paus 
ing  and  indicating  the  direction  of  the  wharf  whence 
had  come  the  explosion. 

What  was  it  ?  We  did  not  stop  a  moment,  but  hur 
ried  in  that  direction. 

We  reached  the  shore  where  we  saw  marks  of  the 
explosion  and  of  a  fight.  Out  on  the  pier  I  ran  breath 
lessly.  I  rushed  to  the  very  edge  and  gazed  over,  then 
climbed  down  the  slippery  piling  and  peered  into  the 
black  water  beneath. 

A  few  bubbles  seemed  to  ooze  up  from  below.  Was 
that  all  ? 

No,  as  I  gazed  down  I  saw  that  some  dark  object 
was  there.  Slowly  Wu  Fang's  body  floated  to  the 
surface  and  lay  there,  rocked  by  the  waves.  Deep  in 
his  breast  stuck  his  own  knife  with  its  handle  of  the 
Sign  of  the  Serpent ! 

I  reached  down  and  seized  him,  as  I  peered  about 
for  Kennedy. 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  119 

There  was  nothing  more  there. 

"  Craig!  "  I  called  desperately,  "  Craig!  " 

There  was  no  answer.  The  silence,  the  echo  of  the 
lapping  water  under  the  wharf  was  appalling,  mocking. 

I  managed  to  call  the  Secret  Service  men  and  they 
got  Wu  Fang's  body  up  on  the  wharf. 

But  I  could  not  leave  the  spot. 

Where  was  Craig?  There  was  not  a  sign  of  him. 
I  could  not  realize  it,  even  when  the  men  brought  grap 
pling  irons  and  began  to  search  the  black  water. 

It  was  all  a  hideous  dream.  I  saw  and  heard,  in  a 
daze. 

It  was  not  until  late  that  night  that  I  returned  to 
the  Dodge  house. 

I  had  delayed  my  return  as  long  as  I  could,  but  I 
knew  that  I  must  see  Elaine  some  time. 

As  I  entered  even  Jennings  must  have  seen  that 
something  was  wrong.  Elaine,  who  was  sitting  in  the 
library  with  Aunt  Josephine,  rose  as  she  saw  me. 

"  Did  you  get  them?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 

I  could  not  speak.  She  seemed  to  read  the  tragic 
look  on  my  haggard  face  and  stopped. 

"  Why,"  she  gasped,  clutching  at  the  desk,  *'  what  is 
the  matter?" 

As  gently  as  I  could,  I  told  her  of  the  chase,  of 
leaving  Craig,  of  the  explosion,  of  the  marks  of  the 
struggle  and  of  the  finding  of  Wu  Fang. 

As  I  finished,  I  thought  she  would  faint. 

"  And  you — you  went  over  everything  about  the 
wharf?" 

"  Everything.    The  men  even  dragged  for  the — " 


120  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

I  checked  myself  over  the  fateful  word. 

Elaine  looked  at  me  wildly.  I  thought  that  she 
would  lose  her  reason.  She  did  not  cry.  The  shock 
was  too  great  for  that. 

Suddenly  I  remembered  the  note.  "  Before  I  left 
him — the  last  time,"  I  blurted  out,  "  he  wrote  a  note- 
to  you." 

I  pulled  the  crumpled  paper  from  my  pocket  and 
Elaine  almost  tore  it  from  me — the  last  word  from 
him — and  read : 

DEAREST  : 

I  may  not  return  until  the  case  is  settled  and  I  have 
found  the  stolen  torpedo.  Matters  involving  millions 
of  lives  and  billions  of  dollars  hang  on  the  plot  back  of 
it.  No  matter  what  happens,  have  no  fear.  Trust  me. 

Lovingly, 
CRAIG. 

She  finished  reading  the  note  and  slowly  laid  it 
down.  Then  she  picked  it  up  and  read  it  again.  Slowly 
she  turned  to  me. 

I  think  I  have  never  seen  so  sublime  a  look  of  faith 
on  any  one's  face  before.  If  I  had  not  seen  and  heard 
what  I  had,  it  might  have  shaken  my  own  convictions. 

"  He  told  me  to  trust  him  and  to  have  no  fear,"  she 
said  simply,  gripping  herself  mentally  and  physically 
by  main  force,  then  with  an  air  of  defiance  she  looked 
at  me.  "  I  do  not  believe  that  he  is  dead !  " 

I  tried  to  comfort  her.  I  wanted  to  do  so.  But  I 
could  do  nothing  but  shake  my  head  sadly.  My  own 
heart  was  full  to  overflowing.  An  intimacy  such  as 


SHADOWS  OF  WAR  121 

had  been  ours  could  not  be  broken  except  with  a  shock 
that  tore  my  soul.  I  knew  that  the  poor  girl  had  not 
seen  what  I  had  seen.  Yet  I  could  not  find  it  in  my 
heart  to  contradict  her. 

She  saw  my  look,  icad  my  mind. 

"  No,"  she  cried,  still  defiant,  "  no — a  thousand 
times,  no !  I  tell  you — he  is  not  dead  I " 


CHAPTER  VI 


FROM  the  rocks  of  a  promontory  that  jutted  out  not. 
far  from  the  wharf  where  Wu  Fang's  body  was  found 
and  Kennedy  had  disappeared,  opened  up  a  beautiful 
panorama  of  a  bay  on  one  side  and  the  Sound  on  the 
other. 

It  was  a  deserted  bit  of  coast.  But  any  one  who  had 
been  standing  near  the  promontory  the  next  day  might 
have  seen  a  thin  line  as  if  the  water,  sparkling  in  the 
sunlight,  had  been  cut  by  a  huge  knife.  Gradually  a 
thin  steel  rod  seemed  to  rise  from  the  water  itself,  still 
moving  ahead,  though  slowly  now  as  it  pushed  its  way 
above  the  surface.  After  it  came  a  round  cylinder  of 
steel,  studded  with  bolts.  It  was  the  hatch  of  a  sub 
marine  and  the  rod  was  the  periscope. 

As  the  submarine  lay  there  at  rest,  the  waves  almost 
breaking  over  it,  the  hatch  slowly  opened  and  a  hand 
appeared  groping  for  a  hold.  Then  appeared  a  face 
with  a  tangle  of  curly  black  hair  and  keen  forceful 
eyes.  After  it  the  body  of  a  man  rose  out  of  the  hatch, 
a  tall,  slender,  striking  person.  He  reached  down  into 
the  hold  of  the  boat  and  drew  forth  a  life  preserver. 

"All  right,"  he  called  down  in  an  accent  slightly 
foreign,  as  he  buckled  on  the  belt.  "  I  shall  communi 
cate  with  you  as  soon  as  I  have  something  to  report." 

122 


THE  LOST   TORPEDO  123 

Then  he  deliberately  plunged  overboard  and  struck 
out  for  the  shore.  Hand  over  hand,  he  churned  his 
way  through  the  water  toward  the  beach  until  at  last 
his  feet  touched  bottom  and  he  waded  out,  shaking  the 
water  from  himself  like  a  huge  animal. 

The  coming  of  the  stranger  had  not  been  entirely 
unheralded.  Along  the  shore  road  by  which  Kennedy 
and  I  had  followed  the  crooks  whom  we  thought  had 
the  torpedo,  on  that  last  chase,  was  waiting  now  a 
powerful  limousine  with  its  motor  purring.  A  chauf 
feur  was  sitting  at  the  wheel  and  inside,  at  the  door, 
sat  a  man  peering  out  along  the  road  to  the  beach. 
Suddenly  the  man  in  the  machine  signalled  to  the 
driver. 

"  He  comes,"  he  cried  eagerly.  "  Drive  down  the 
road,  closer,  and  meet  him." 

The  chauffeur  shot  his  car  ahead.  As  the  swimmer 
strode  shivering  up  the  roadway,  the  car  approached 
him.  The  assistant  swung  open  the  door  and  ran  for 
ward  with  a  thick,  warm  coat  and  hat. 

Neither  the  master  nor  the  servant  spoke  as  they 
met,  but  the  man  wrapped  the  coat  about  him,  hurried 
into  the  car,  the  driver  turned  and  quickly  they  sped 
toward  the  city. 

Secret  though  the  entrance  of  the  stranger  had  been 
planned,  however,  it  was  not  unobserved. 

Along  the  beach,  on  a  boulder,  gazing  thoughtfully 
out  to  sea  and  smoking  an  old  briar  pipe  sat  a  bent 
fisherman  clad  in  an  oilskin  coat  and  hat  and  heavy, 
ungainly  boots.  About  his  neck  was  a  long  woolen 
muffler  which  concealed  the  lower  part  of  his  face  quite 
as  effectually  as  his  scraggly,  grizzled  whiskers. 


124  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Suddenly,  he  seemed  to  discover  something  that  in 
terested  him,  slowly  rose,  then  turned  and  almost  ran 
up  the  shore.  Quickly  he  dropped  behind  a  large  rock 
and  waited,  peering  out. 

As  the  limousine  bearing  the  stranger,  on  whom  the 
fisherman  had  kept  his  eyes  riveted,  turned  and  drove 
away,  the  old  salt  rose  from  behind  his  rock,  gazed 
after  the  car  as  if  to  fix  every  line  of  it  in  his  memory 
and  then  he,  too,  quickly  disappeared  up  the  road. 

The  stranger's  car  had  scarcely  disappeared  when 
the  fisherman  turned  from  the  shore  road  into  a  clump 
of  stunted  trees  and  made  his  way  to  a  hut.  Not  far 
away  stood  a  small,  unpretentious  closed  car,  also  with 
a  driver. 

"  I  shall  be  ready  in  a  minute,"  the  fisherman  nodded 
almost  running  into  the  hut,  as  the  driver  moved  his 
car  up  closer  to  the  door. 

The  larger  motor  had  disappeared  far  down  the  bend 
of  the  road  when  the  fisherman  reappeared.  In  an  al 
most  incredible  time  he  had  changed  his  oilskins  and 
muffler  for  a  dark  coat  and  silk  hat.  He  was  no  longer 
a  fisherman,  but  a  rather  fussy-looking  old  gentleman, 
bewhiskered  still,  with  eyes  looking  out  keenly  from  a 
pair  of  gold-rimmed  glasses. 

"  Follow  that  car — at  any  cost,"  he  ordered  simply 
as  he  let  himself  into  the  little  motor,  and  the  driver 
shot  ahead  down  a  bit  of  side  road  and  out  into  the 
main  shore  road  again,  urging  the  car  forward  to  over 
take  the  one  ahead. 

Such  was  the  entrance  of  the  stranger — Marcius  Del 
Mar — into  America. 


THE   LOST   TORPEDO  125 

How  I  managed  to  pass  the  time  during  the  first 
days  after  the  strange  disappearance  of  Kennedy,  I 
don't  know.  It  was  all  like  a  dream — the  apartment 
empty,  the  laboratory  empty,  my  own  work  on  the  Star 
uninteresting,  Elaine  broken-hearted,  life  itself  a 
burden. 

Hoping  against  hope  the  next  day  I  decided  to  drop 
around  at  the  Dodge  house.  As  I  entered  the  library 
unannounced,  I  saw  that  Elaine,  with  a  faith  for  which 
I  envied  her,  was  sitting  at  a  table,  her  back  toward 
the  door.  She  was  gazing  sadly  at  a  photograph. 
Though  I  could  not  see  it,  I  needed  not  to  be  told  whose 
it  was. 

She  did  not  hear  me  come  in,  so  engrossed  was  she 
in  her  thoughts.  Nor  did  she  notice  me  at  first  as  I 
stood  just  behind  her.  Finally  I  put  my  hand  on  her 
shoulder  as  if  I  had  been  an  elder  brother. 

She  looked  up  into  my  face.  "  Have  you  heard  from 
him  yet  ?  "  she  asked  anxiously. 

I  could  only  shake  my  head  sadly.  She  sighed.  In 
voluntarily  she  rose  and  together  we  moved  toward  the 
garden,  the  last  place  we  had  seen  him  about  the  house. 

We  had  been  pacing  up  and  down  the  garden  talking 
earnestly  only  a  short  time  when  a  man  made  his  way 
in  from  the  Fifth  Avenue  gate. 

"  Is  this  Miss  Dodge?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,"  she  replied  eagerly. 

Neither  Elaine  nor  I  knew  him  at  the  time,  though 
I  think  she  thought  he  might  be  the  bearer  of  some  mes 
sage  from  Craig.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  was  the 
emissary  to  whom  the  stenographer  had  thrown  the 
torpedo  model  from  the  Navy  Building  in  Washington. 


126          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

His  visit  was  only  a  part  of  a  deep-laid  scheme. 
Only  a  few  minutes  before,  three  crooks — among  them 
our  visitor — had  stopped  just  below  the  house  on  a 
side  street.  To  him  the  others  had  given  final  in 
structions  and  a  note,  and  he  had  gone  on,  leaving  the 
two  standing  there. 

"  I  have  a  note  for  you,"  he  said,  bowing  and  hand 
ing  an  envelope  to  Elaine,  which  she  tore  open  and 
read. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
Miss  ELAINE  DODGE, 

Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 
MY  DEAR  Miss  DODGE, 

The  bearer,  Mr.  Bailey,  of  the  Secret  Service,  would 
like  to  question  you  regarding  the  disappearance  of 
Mr.  Kennedy  and  the  model  of  his  torpedo. 

MORGAN  BERTRAND, 

U.  S.  Secret  Service. 

Even  as  we  were  talking  the  other  two  crooks  had  al 
ready  moved  up  and  had  made  their  way  around  back 
of  the  stone  wall  that  cut  off  the  Dodge  garden  back  of 
the  house.  There  they  stood,  whispering  eagerly  and 
gazing  furtively  over  the  wall  as  their  man  talked  to 
Elaine. 

After  a  moment  I  stepped  aside,  while  Elaine  read 
the  note,  and  as  he  asked  her  a  few  questions,  I  could 
not  help  feeling  that  the  affair  had  a  very  suspicious 
look.  The  more  I  thought  of  it,  the  less  I  liked  it. 
Finally  I  could  stand  it  no  longer. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon/'  I  excused  myself  to  the  al- 


THE  LOST  TORPEDO  127 

leged  Mr.  Bailey,  "but  may  I  speak  to  Miss  Dodge 
alone  just  a  minute?  " 

He  bowed,  rather  ungraciously  I  thought,  and  Elaine 
followed  me  aside  while  I  told  her  my  fears. 

"  I  don't  like  the  looks  of  it  myself,"  she  agreed. 
"  Yes,  I'll  be  very  careful  what  I  say." 

While  we  were  talking  I  could  see  out  of  the  corner 
of  my  eye  that  the  fellow  was  looking  at  us  askance 
and  frowning.  But  if  I  had  had  an  X-ray  eye,  I  might 
have  seen  his  two  companions  on  the  other  side  of  the 
wall,  peering  over  as  they  had  been  before  and  show 
ing  every  evidence  of  annoyance  at  my  interference. 

The  man  resumed  his  questioning  of  Elaine  regard 
ing  the  torpedo  and  she  replied  guardedly,  as  in  fact 
she  could  not  do  otherwise. 

Suddenly  wre  heard  shouts  on  the  other  side  of  the 
wall,  as  though  some  one  were  attacking  some  one  else. 

There  seemed  to  be  several  of  them,  for  a  man 
quickly  flung  himself  over  the  wall  and  ran  to  us. 

"  They're  after  us,"  he  shouted  to  Bailey. 

Instantly  our  visitor  drew  a  gun  and  followed  the 
newcomer  as  he  ran  to  get  out  of  the  garden  in  the 
opposite  direction. 

Just  then  a  tall,  well-dressed,  striking  man  came 
over  the  wall,  accompanied  by  another  dressed  as  a 
policeman,  and  rushed  toward  us. 

The  car  bearing  the  mysterious  stranger,  Del  Mar, 
kept  on  until  it  reached  New  York,  then  made  its  way 
through  the  city  until  it  came  to  the  Hotel  La  Coste. 

Del  Mar  jumped  out  of  the  car,  his  wet  clothes 
covered  completely  by  the  long  coat.  He  registered 


128  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

and  rode  up  in  the  elevator  to  rooms  which  had  al 
ready  been  engaged  for  him.  In  his  suite  a  valet  was 
already  unpacking  some  trunks  and  laying  out  clothes 
when  Del  Mar  and  his  assistant  entered. 

With  an  exclamation  of  satisfaction  at  his  unosten 
tatious  entry  into  the  city,  Del  Mar  threw  off  his  heavy 
coat.  The  valet  hastened  to  assist  him  in  removing  the 
clothes  still  wet  and  wrinkled  from  his  plunge  into 
the  sea. 

Scarcely  had  Del  Mar  changed  his  clothes  than  he 
received  two  visitors.  Strangely  enough  they  were 
men  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  policemen. 

"  First  of  all  we  must  convince  them  of  our  hon 
esty,"  he  said  looking  fixedly  at  the  two  men.  "  Or 
ders  have  been  given  to  the  men  employed  by  Wu  Fang 
to  be  about  in  half  an  hour.  We  must  pretend  to  ar 
rest  them  on  sight.  You  understand?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  they  nodded. 

"  Very  well,  come  on,"  Del  Mar  ordered  taking  up 
his  hat  and  preceding  them  from  the  room. 

Outside  the  La  Coste,  Del  Mar  and  his  two  police 
men  entered  the  car  which  had  driven  Del  Mar  from 
the  sea  coast  and  were  quickly  whisked  away,  up-town, 
until  they  came  near  the  Dodge  house. 

Del  Mar  leaped  from  the  car  followed  by  his  two 
policemen.  "  There  they  are,  already,"  he  whispered, 
pointing  up  the  avenue. 

All  three  hastened  up  the  avenue  now  where,  beside 
a  wall,  they  could  see  two  men  looking  through  in 
tently  as  though  very  angry  at  something  going  on 
inside. 

"  Arrest  them !  "  shouted  Del  Mar  as  his  own  men 
ran  forward. 


THE   LOST   TORPEDO  129 

The  fight  was  short  and  sharp,  with  every  evidence 
of  being  genuine.  One  of  the  men  managed  to  break 
away  and  jump  the  garden  wall,  with  Del  Mar  and 
one  of  the  policemen  after  him,  while  the  other  only 
reached  the  wall  to  be  dragged  down  by  the  other 
policeman. 

Elaine  and  I  had  been,  as  I  have  said,  talking  with 
the  man  named  Bailey  who  posed  as  a  Secret  Service 
man,  when  the  rumpus  began.  As  the  man  came  over 
the  fence,  warning  Bailey,  it  was  evident  that  neither 
of  them  had  time  to  escape.  With  his  club  the  police 
man  struck  the  newcomer  of  the  two  flat  while  the 
tall,  athletic  gentleman  leaped  upon  Bailey  and  before 
we  knew  it  had  him  disarmed.  In  a  most  clean-cut  and 
professional  way  he  snapped  the  bracelets  on  the  man. 

Elaine  was  astounded  at  the  kaleidoscopic  turn  of 
affairs,  too  astounded  even  to  make  an  outcry.  As 
for  me,  it  was  all  so  sudden  that  I  had  no  chance  to 
take  part  in  it.  Besides  I  should  not  have  known  quite 
on  which  side  to  fight.  So  I  did  nothing. 

But  as  it  was  over  so  quickly,  I  took  a  step  forward 
to  our  latest  arrival. 

"Beg  pardon,  old  man,"  I  began,  "but  don't  you 
think  this  is  just  a  little  raw?  What's  it  all  about?  " 

The  newest  comer  eyed  me  for  a  moment,  then  with 
quiet  dignity  drew  from  his  pocket  and  handed  me  his 
card  which  read  simply: 

M.  Del  Mar,  Private  Investigator. 

As  I  looked  up,  I  saw  Del  Mar's  other  policeman 
bringing  in  another  manacled  man. 


1 3o  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  These  are  crooks — foreign  agents,"  replied  Del 
Mar  pointing  to  the  prisoners.  "  The  government  has 
employed  me  to  run  them  down." 

"  What  of  this?  "  asked  Elaine  holding  up  the  note 
from  Bertrand. 

"  A  fake,  a  forgery,"  reiterated  Del  Mar,  looking  at 
it  a  moment  critically.  Then  to  the  men  uniformed  as 
police  he  ordered,  "  You  can  take  them  to  jail.  They're 
the  fellows,  all  right." 

As  the  prisoners  were  led  off,  Del  Mar  turned  to 
Elaine.  "  Would  you  mind  answering  a  few  questions 
about  these  men  ?  " 

"  Why— no,"  she  hesitated.  "  But  I  think  we'd  bet 
ter  go  into  the  house,  after  such  a  thing  as  this.  It 
makes  me  feel  nervous." 

With  Del  Mar  I  followed  Elaine  in  through  the 
conservatory. 


Del  Mar  had  scarcely  registered  at  the  La  Coste 
when  the  smaller  car  which  had  been  waiting  at  the 
fisherman's  hut  drew  up  before  the  hotel  entrance. 
From  it  alighted  the  fussy  old  gentleman  who  bore 
such  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  the  fisherman,  hastily 
paid  his  driver  and  entered  the  hotel. 

He  went  directly  to  the  desk  and  with  well-mani 
cured  finger,  scarcely  reminiscent  of  a  fisherman,  be 
gan  tracing  the  names  down  the  list  until  he  stoppe  ' 
before  one  which  read : 

Marcius  Del  Mar  and  valet.  Washington,  D.  C, 
Room  520. 

With  a  quick  glance  about,  he  made  a  note  of  it, 


THE   LOST   TORPEDO  131 

and  turned  away,  leaving  the  La  Coste  to  take  up  quar- 
ters  of  his  own  in  the  Prince  Henry  down  the  street. 

Not  until  Del  Mar  had  left  with  his  two  policemen 
did  the  fussy  old  gentleman  reappear  in  the  La  Coste., 
Then  he  rode  up  to  Del  Mar's  room  and  rapped  at 
the  door. 

"  Is  Mr.  Del  Mar  in  ?  "  he  inquired  of  the  valet. 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  that  functionary. 

The  little  old  man  appeared  to  consider,  standing  a 
moment  dandling  his  silk  hat.  Absent-mindedly  he 
dropped  it.  As  the  valet  stooped  to  pick  it  up,  the  old 
gentleman  exhibited  an  agility  and  strength  scarcely 
to  be  expected  of  his  years.  He  seized  the  valet,  while 
with  one  foot  he  kicked  the  door  shut. 

Before  the  surprised  servant  knew  what  was  going 
on,  his  assailant  had  whipped  from  his  pocket  a  hand 
kerchief  in  which  was  concealed  a  thin  tube  of  anes 
thetic.  Then  leaving  the  valet  prone  in  a  corner  with 
the  handkerchief  over  his  face,  he  proceeded  to  make 
a  systematic  search  of  the  rooms,  opening  all  drawers, 
trunks  and  bags. 

He  turned  pretty  nearly  everything  upside  down, 
then  started  on  the  desk.  Suddenly  he  paused.  There 
was  a  paper.  He  read  it,  then  with  an  air  of  extreme 
elation  shoved  it  into  his  pocket. 

As  he  was  going  out  he  stopped  beside  the  valet, 
removed  the  handkerchief  from  his  face  and  bound 
him  with  a  cord  from  the  portieres.  Then,  still  im 
maculate  in  spite  of  his  encounter,  he  descended  in  the 
elevator,  reentered  a  waiting  car  and  drove  off. 

Quite  evidently,  however,  he  wanted  to  cover  his 
tracks  for  he  had  not  gone  a  half  dozen  blocks  before 


132  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

he  stopped,  paid  and  tipped  the  driver  generously,  and 
disappeared  into  the  theatre  crowd. 

Back  again  in  the  Prince  Henry,  whither  the  fussy 
little  old  man  made  his  way  as  quickly  as  he  could 
through  a  side  street,  he  went  quietly  up  to  his  room. 

His  door  was  now  locked.  He  did  not  have  to  deny 
himself  to  visitors,  for  he  had  none.  Still,  his  room 
was  cluttered  by  a  vast  amount  of  paraphernalia  and 
he  was  seated  before  a  table  deep  in  work. 

First  of  all  he  tied  a  handkerchief  over  his  nose  and 
mouth.  Then  he  took  up  a  cartridge  from  the  table 
and  carefully  extracted  the  bullet.  Into  the  space  oc 
cupied  by  the  bullet  he  poured  a  white  powder  and 
added  a  wad  of  paper,  like  a  blank  cartridge,  placing 
the  cartridge  in  the  chamber  of  a  revolver  and  re 
peating  the  operation  until  he  had  it  fully  loaded.  It 
was  his  own  invention  of  an  asphyxiating  bullet. 

Perhaps  half  an  hour  later,  the  old  gentleman,  his 
room  cleaned  up  and  his  immaculate  appearance  re 
stored,  sauntered  forth  from  the  hotel  down  the 
street  like  a  veritable  Turveydrop,  to  show  himself. 

Elaine  seemed  quite  impressed  with  our  new  friend, 
Del  Mar,  as  we  made  our  way  to  the  library,  though 
I  am  not  sure  but  that  it  was  a  pose  on  her  part.  At 
any  rate  he  seemed  quite  eager  to  help  us. 

"  What  do  you  suppose  has  become  of  Mr.  Ken 
nedy?  "  asked  Elaine. 

Del  Mar  looked  at  her  earnestly.  "  I  should  be  glad 
to  search  for  him,"  he  returned  quickly.  "  He  was 
the  greatest  man  in  our  profession.  But  first  I  must 
execute  the  commission  of  the  Secret  Service.  We 


THE   LOST   TORPEDO  133 

must  find  his  torpedo  model  before  it  falls  into  for 
eign  hands." 

We  talked  for  a  few  moments,  then  Del  Mar  with  a 
glance  at  his  watch  excused  himself.  We  accompanied 
him  to  the  door,  for  he  was  indeed  a  charming  man. 
I  felt  that,  if  in  fact  he  were  assigned  to  the  case,  I 
ought  to  know  him  better. 

"  If  you're  going  down-town,"  I  ventured,  "  I  might 
accompany  you  part  of  the  way." 

"  Delighted,"  agreed  Del  Mar. 

Elaine  gave  him  her  hand  and  he  took  it  in  such  a 
deferential  way  that  one  could  not  help  liking  him. 
Elaine  was  much  impressed. 

As  Del  Mar  and  I  walked  down  the  avenue,  he  kept 
up  a  running  fire  of  conversation  until  at  last  we  came 
near  the  La  Coste. 

"  Charmed  to  have  met  you,  Mr.  Jameson,"  he  said, 
pausing.  "  We  shall  see  a  great  deal  of  each  other 
I  hope." 

I  had  not  yet  had  time  to  say  good-bye  myself  when 
a  slight  exclamation  at  my  side  startled  me.  Turning 
suddenly,  I  saw  a  very  brisk,  fussy  old  gentleman  who 
had  evidently  been  hurrying  through  the  crowd.  He 
had  slipped  on  something  on  the  sidewalk  and  lost  his 
balance,  falling  near  us. 

We  bent  over  and  assisted  him  to  his  feet.  As  I 
took  hold  of  his  hand,  I  felt  a  peculiar  pressure  from 
him.  He  had  placed  something  in  my  hand.  My  mind 
worked  quickly.  I  checked  my  first  impulse  to  speak 
and,  more  from  curiosity  than  anything  else,  kept  the 
thing  he  had  passed  to  me  surreptitiously. 

"  Thank  you,  gentlemen,"  he  puffed,  straightening 


134  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

himself  out.  "  One  of  the  infirmities  of  age.  Thank 
you,  thank  you." 

In  a  moment  he  had  bustled  off  quite  comically. 

Again  Del  Mar  said  good-bye  and  I  did  not  urge 
him  to  stay.  He  had  scarcely  gone  when  I  looked  at 
the  thing  the  old  man  had  placed  in  my  hand.  It  was 
a  little  folded  piece  of  paper.  I  opened  it  slowly.  In 
side  was  printed  in  pencil,  disguised : 

"  BE  CAREFUL.    WATCH  HIM." 
I  read  it  in  amazement.    What  did  it  mean  ? 

At  the  La  Coste,  Del  Mar  was  met  by  two  of  his 
men  in  the  lobby  and  they  rode  up  to  his  room. 

Imagine  their  surprise  when  they  opened  the  door 
and  found  the  valet  lying  bound  on  the  floor. 

"  Who  the  deuce  did  this  ?  "  demanded  Del  Mar  as 
they  loosened  him. 

The  valet  rose  weakly  to  his  feet.  "  A  little  old  man 
with  gray  whiskers,"  he  managed  to  gasp. 

Del  Mar  looked  at  him  in  surprise.  Instantly  his 
active  mind  recalled  the  little  old  man  who  had  fallen 
before  us  on  the  street. 

Who — what  was  he? 

"  Come,"  he  said  quickly,  beckoning  his  two  com 
panions  who  had  come  in  with  him. 

Some  time  later,  Del  Mar's  car  stopped  just  below 
the  Dodge  house. 

"  You  men  go  around  back  of  the  house  and  watch," 
ordered  Del  Mar. 

As  they  disappeared  he  turned  and  went  up  the 
Dodge  steps. 


THE   LOST   TORPEDO  135 


I  walked  back  after  my  strange  experience  with  the 
fussy  little  old  gentleman,  feeling  more  than  ever,  now 
that  Craig  was  gone,  that  both  Elaine  and  Aunt  Joseph 
ine  needed  me. 

As  we  sat  talking  in  the  library,  Rusty,  released  from 
the  chain  on  which  Jennings  kept  him,  bounded  with  a 
rush  into  the  library. 

"  Good  old  fellow,"  encouraged  Elaine,  patting  him. 

Just  then  Jennings  entered  and  a  moment  later  was 
followed  by  Del  Mar,  who  bowed  as  we  welcomed  him. 

"  Do  you  know,"  he  began,  "  I  believe  that  the  lost 
torpedo  model  is  somewhere  in  this  house  and  I  have 
reason  to  anticipate  another  attempt  of  foreign  agents 
to  find  it.  If  you'll  pardon  me,  I've  taken  the  liberty  of 
surrounding  the  place  with  some  men  we  can  trust." 

While  Del  Mar  was  speaking,  Elaine  picked  up  a 
ribbon  from  the  table  and  started  to  tie  it  about 
Rusty 's  neck.  As  Del  Mar  proceeded  she  paused,  still 
holding  the  ribbon.  Rusty,  who  hated  ribbons,  saw 
his  chance  and  quietly  sidled  out,  seeking  refuge  in  the 
conservatory. 

Alone  in  the  conservatory,  Rusty  quickly  forgot 
about  the  ribbon  and  began  nosing  about  the  palms.  At 
last  he  came  to  the  pot  in  which  the  torpedo  model  had 
been  buried  in  the  soft  earth  by  the  thief  the  night  it 
had  been  stolen  from  the  fountain. 

Quickly  Elaine  recalled  herself  and,  seeing  the  rib 
bon  in  her  hand  and  Rusty  gone,  called  him.  There 
was  no  answer,  and  she  excused  herself,  for  it  was 
against  the  rules  for  Rusty  to  wander  about. 

In  his  haste  the  thief  had  left  just  a  corner  of  the 


136  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

handkerchief  sticking  out  of  the  dirt.  What  none  of 
us  had  noticed,  Rusty's  keen  eyes  and  nose  discovered 
and  his  instinct  told  him  to  dig  for  it.  In  a  moment  he 
uncovered  the  torpedo  and  handkerchief  and  sniffed. 

Just  then  he  heard  his  mistress  calling  him.  Rusty 
Tiad  been  whipped  for  digging  in  the  conservatory  and 
now,  with  his  tail  between  his  legs,  he  seized  the  tor 
pedo  in  his  mouth  and  bolted  for  the  door  of  the  draw 
ing-room,  for  he  had  heard  voices  in  the  library.  As 
he  did  so  he  dropped  the  handkerchief  and  the  little 
propeller,  loosened  by  his  teeth,  fell  off. 

Elaine  entered  the  conservatory,  still  calling.  Rusty 
was  not  there.  He  had  reached  the  stairs,  scurrying  up 
to  the  attic,  still  holding  the  torpedo  model  in  his 
mouth.  He  pushed  open  the  attic  door  and  ran  in. 
Rusty's  last  refuge  in  time  of  trouble  was  back  of  a 
number  of  trunks,  among  which  were  two  of  almost 
the  same  size  and  appearance.  Behind  one  of  them, 
he  had  hidden  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  bones, 
pieces  of  biscuit  and  things  dear  to  his  heart.  He 
dropped  the  torpedo  among  these  treasures. 

Del  Mar,  meanwhile,  had  followed  Elaine  through 
the  hall  and  into  the  conservatory.  As  he  entered  he 
could  see  her  stooping  down  to  look  through  the  palms 
for  Rusty.  She  straightened  up  and  went  on  out. 

Del  Mar  followed.  Beside  the  palm  pot  where  Rusty 
had  found  the  torpedo,  he  happened  to  see  the  old  hand 
kerchief  soiled  with  dirt.  Near-by  lay  the  little  pro 
peller.  He  picked  them  up. 

"  She  has  found  it !  "  he  exclaimed  in  wonder,  fol 
lowing  Elaine. 

By  this  time  Rusty  had  responded  to  Elaine's  calls 
and  came  tearing  down-stairs  again. 


THE  LOST   TORPEDO  137 

"  Naughty  Rusty,"  chided  Elaine,  tying  the  ribbon 
on  him. 

"  So — you  have  found  him  at  last?  "  remarked  Del 
Mar  looking  quickly  at  Elaine  to  see  if  she  would  get  a 
double  meaning. 

"  Yes.  He's  had  a  fine  time  running  away,"  she  re 
plied. 

Del  Mar  was  scarcely  able  to  conceal  his  suspicion  of 
her.  Was  she  a  clever  actress,  hiding  her  discovery, 
he  wondered? 

Outside,  on  the  lawn,  Del  Mar's  men  had  been  look 
ing  about,  but  had  discovered  nothing.  They  paused  a 
moment  to  speak. 

"  Look  out !  "  whispered  one  of  them.  "  There's 
some  one  coming." 

They  dropped  down  in  the  shadow.  There  in  the 
light  of  the  street  lamps  was  the  fussy  old  gentleman 
coming  across  the  lawn.  He  stole  up  to  the  door  of 
the  conservatory  and  looked  through.  Del  Mar's  men 
crawled  a  few  feet  closer.  The  little  old  man  entered 
the  conservatory  and  looked  about  again  stealthily. 
The  two  men  followed  him  in  noiselessly  and  watched 
as  he  bent  over  the  palm  pot  from  which  the  dog  had 
dug  up  the  torpedo.  He  looked  at  the  hole  curiously. 
Just  then  he  heard  sounds  behind  him  and  sprang  to 
his  feet. 

"  Hands  up!  "  ordered  one  of  the  men  covering  him 
with  a  gun. 

The  little  old  man  threw  up  his  hands,  raising  his 
cane  still  in  his  right  hand.  The  man  with  the  gun 
took  a  step  closer.  As  he  did  so,  the  little  old  man 


138  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

brought  down  his  cane  with  a  quick  blow  and  knocked 
the  gun  out  of  his  hand.  The  second  man  seized  the 
cane.  The  old  mar  jerked  the  cane  back  and  was  stand 
ing  there  with  a  thin  tough  steel  rapier.  It  was  a 
sword-cane.  Del  Mar's  man  held  the  sheath. 

As  the  man  attacked  with  the  sheath,  the  little  old 
man  parried,  sent  it  flying  from  his  grasp,  and  wounded 
him.  The  wounded  man  sank  down,  while  the  little  old 
man  ran  off  through  the  palms,  followed  by  the  other 
of  Del  Mar's  men. 

Around  the  hall,  he  ran,  and  back  into  the  conser 
vatory  where  he  picked  up  a  heavy  chair  and  threw  it 
through  the  glass,  dropping  himself  behind  a  convenient 
hiding-place  near-by.  Del  Mar's  man,  close  after  him, 
mistaking  the  crash  of  glass  for  the  escape  of  the  man 
he  was  pursuing,  wTent  on  through  the  broken  exit. 
Then  the  little  old  man  doubled  on  his  tracks  and  made 
for  the  front  of  the  house. 

With  Aunt  Josephine  I  had  remained  in  the  library. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  I  exclaimed  at  the  first  sounds.  "  A 
fight?" 

Together  we  rushed  for  the  conservatory. 

The  fight  followed  so  quickly  by  the  crash  of  glass 
also  alarmed  Elaine  and  Del  Mar  in  the  hallway  and 
they  hurried  toward  the  library,  which  we  had  just  left, 
by  another  door. 

As  they  entered,  they  saw  a  little  old  gentleman 
rushing  in  from  the  conservatory  and  locking  the  door 
behind  him.  He  whirled  about,  and  he  and  Del  Mar 
recognized  each  other  at  once.  They  drew  guns  to 
gether,  but  the  little  old  man  fired  first. 


THE   LOST   TORPEDO  139 

His  bullet  struck  the  wall  back  of  Del  Mar  and  a 
cloud  of  vapor  was  instantly  formed,  enveloping  Del 
Mar  and  even  Elaine.  Del  Mar  fell,  overcome,  while 
Elaine  sank  more  slowly.  The  little  old  man  ran  for 
ward. 

In  the  conservatory,  Aunt  Josephine  and  I  heard  the 
shooting,  just  as  one  of  Del  Mar's  men  ran  in  again. 
With  him  we  ran  back  toward  the  library. 

By  this  time  the  whole  house  was  aroused.  Jennings 
and  Marie  were  hurrying  down-stairs,  crying  for  help 
and  making  their  way  to  the  library  also. 

In  the  library,  the  little  old  man  bent  over  Del  Mar 
and  Elaine.  But  it  was  only  a  moment  later  that  he 
heard  the  whole  house  aroused.  Quickly  he  shut  and 
locked  the  folding-doors  to  the  drawing-room,  as,  with 
Del  Mar's  man,  I  was  beating  at  the  rear  library 
door. 

"  I'll  go  around,"  I  suggested,  hurrying  off,  while 
Del  Mar's  man  tried  to  beat  in  the  door. 

Inside  the  little  old  man  who  had  been  listening  saw 
that  there  was  no  means  of  escape.  He  pulled  off  his 
coat  and  vest  and  turned  them  inside  out.  On  the 
inside  he  had  prepared  an  exact  copy  of  Jennings'  liv 
ery. 

It  was  only  a  matter  of  seconds  before  he  had  com 
pleted  his  change.  For  a  moment  he  paused  and  looked 
at  the  two  prostrate  figures  before  him.  Then  he  took 
a  rose  from  a  vase  on  the  table  and  placed  it  in  Elaine's 
hand. 

Finally,  with  his  whiskers  and  wig  off  he  moved  to 
the  rear  door  where  Del  Mar's  man  was  beating  and 
opened  it. 


140  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  Look,"  he  cried  pointing  in  an  agitated  way  at 
Del  Mar  and  Elaine.  "  What  shall  we  do  ?  " 

Del  Mar's  man,  who  had  never  seen  Jennings,  ran 
to  his  master  and  the  little  old  man,  in  his  new  disguise, 
slipped  quietly  into  the  hall  and  out  the  front  door, 
where  he  had  a  taxicab  waiting  for  him,  down  the 
street. 

A  moment  later  I  burst  open  the  other  library  door 
and  Aunt  Josephine  followed  me  in,  just  as  Jennings 
himself  and  Marie  entered  from  the  drawing-room. 

It  was  only  a  moment  before  \ve  had  Del  Mar,  who 
was  most  in  need  of  care,  on  the  sofa  and  Elaine,  al 
ready  regaining  consciousness,  lay  back  in  a  deep  easy 
chair. 

As  Del  Mar  moved,  I  turned  again  to  Elaine  who 
was  now  nearly  recovered. 

"  How  do  you  feel?"  I  asked  anxiously. 

Her  throat  wras  parched  by  the  asphyxiating  fumes, 
but  she  smiled  brightly,  though  weakly. 

"  Wh-where  did  I  get  that?"  she  managed  to  gasp 
finally,  catching  sight  of  the  rose  in  her  hand.  "  Did 
you  put  it  there  ?  " 

I  shook  my  head  and  she  gazed  at  the  rose,  wonder 
ing. 

Whoever  the  little  man  was,  he  was  gone. 

I  longed  for  Craig. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  GRAY  FRIAR 

So  confident  was  Elaine  that  Kennedy  was  still  alive 
that  she  would  not  admit  to  herself  what  to  the  rest 
of  us  seemed  obvious. 

She  even  refused  to  accept  Aunt  Josephine's  hints 
and  decided  to  give  a  masquerade  ball  which  she  had 
planned  as  the  last  event  of  the  season  before  she  closed 
the  Dodge  town  house  and  opened  her  country  house  on 
the  shore  of  Connecticut. 

It  was  shortly  after  the  strange  appearance  of  the 
fussy  old  gentleman  that  I  dropped  in  one  afternoon 
to  find  Elaine  addressing  invitations,  while  Aunt 
Josephine  helped  her.  As  we  chatted,  I  picked  up  one 
from  the  pile  and  mechanically  contemplated  the  ad 
dress  : 

"  M.  Del  Mar,  Hotel  La  Coste,  New  York  City." 

"  I  don't  like  that  fellow,"  I  remarked,  shaking  my 
head  dubiously. 

"  Oh,  you're — jealous,  Walter,"  laughed  Elaine,  tak 
ing  the  envelope  away  from  me  and  piling  it  again  with 
the  others. 

Thus  it  was  that  in  the  morning's  mail,  Del  Mar, 
along  with  the  rest  of  us,  received  a  neatly  engraved 
little  invitation : 


142  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Miss  Elaine  Dodge 

requests  the  pleasure 

of  your  presence  at  the 

masquerade  ball  to  be 

given  at  her  residence 

on  Friday  evening 

June  ist. 

"  Good !  "  he  exclaimed,  reaching  for  the  telephone, 
"  I'll  go." 

In  a  restaurant  in  the  white  light  district  two  of 
those  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  preliminary  plot  to 
steal  Kennedy's  wireless  torpedo  model,  the  young 
woman  stenographer  who  had  betrayed  her  trust  and 
the  man  to  whom  she  had  passed  the  model  out  of  the 
window  in  Washington,  were  seated  at  a  table. 

So  secret  had  been  the  relations  of  all  those  in  the 
plot  that  one  group  did  not  know  the  othe;  and  the 
strangest  methods  of  communication  had  been  adopted. 

The  man  removed  a  cover  from  a  dish.  Underneath, 
perhaps  without  even  the  waiter's  knowledge,  was  a 
note. 

"  Here  are  the  orders  at  last,"  he  whispered  to  the 
girl,  unfolding  and  reading  the  note.  "  Look.  The 
model  of  the  torpedo  is  somewhere  in  her  house.  Go 
to-night  to  the  ball  as  a  masquerader  and  search  for  it." 

"  Oh,  splendid !  "  exclaimed  the  girl.  "  I'm  crazy 
for  a  little  society  after  this  grind..  Pay  the  check  and 
let's  get  out  and  choose  our  costumes." 

The  man  paid  the  check  and  they  left  hurriedly. 
Half  an  hour  later  they  were  at  a  costumer's  shop 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR  143 

choosing  their  disguises,  both  careful  to  get  the  fullest 
masks  that  would  not  excite  suspicion. 


It  was  the  night  of  the  masquerade. 

During  the  afternoon  Elaine  had  been  thinking 
more  than  ever  of  Kennedy.  It  all  seemed  unreal  to 
her.  More  than  once  she  stopped  to  look  at  his  photo 
graph.  Several  times  she  checked  herself  on  the 
point  of  tears. 

"  No,"  she  said  to  herself  with  a  sort  of  grim  de 
termination.  "  No — he  is  alive.  He  will  come  back 
to  me — he  will." 

And  yet  she  had  a  feeling  of  terrific  loneliness  which 
even  her  most  powerful  efforts  could  not  throw  off. 
She  was  determined  to  go  through  with  the  ball,  now 
that  she  had  started  it,  but  she  was  really  glad  when  it 
came  time  to  dress,  for  even  that  took  her  mind  from 
her  brooding. 

As  Marie  finished  helping  her  put  on  a  very  effec 
tive  and  conspicuous  costume,  Aunt  Josephine  en 
tered  her  dressing-room. 

"Are  you  ready,  my  dear?"  she  asked,  adjusting 
the  mask  which  she  carried  so  that  no  one  would  rec 
ognize  her  as  Martha  Washington. 

"  In  just  a  minute,  Auntie,"  answered  Elaine,  try 
ing  hard  to  put  out  of  her  mind  how  Craig  would 
have  liked  her  dress. 

Somewhat  earlier,  in  my  own  apartment,  I  had 
been  arraying  myself  as  Boum-Boum  and  modestly 
admiring  the  imitation  I  made  of  a  circus  clown  as  I 
did  a  couple  of  comedy  steps  before  the  mirror. 

But  I  was  not  really  so  light-hearted.     I  could  not 


144  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

help  thinking  of  what  this  night  might  have  been  if 
Kennedy  had  been  alive.  Indeed,  I  was  glad  to  take 
up  my  white  mask,  throw  a  long  coat,  over  my  out 
landish  costume  and  hurry  off  in  my  waiting  car  in 
order  to  forget  everything  that  reminded  me  of  him 
in  the  apartment. 

Already  a  continuous  stream  of  guests  was  trickling 
in  through  the  canopy  from  the  curb  to  the  Dodge 
door,  carriages  and  automobiles  arriving  and  leaving 
amid  great  gaping  from  the  crowd  on  the  sidewalk. 

As  I  entered  the  ballroom  it  was  really  a  brilliant 
and  picturesque  assemblage.  Of  course  I  recognized 
Elaine  in  spite  of  her  mask,  almost  immediately. 

Characteristically,  she  was  talking  to  the  one  most 
striking  figure  on  the  floor,  a  tall  man  in  red — a  veri 
table  Mephistopheles.  As  the  music  started,  Elaine 
and  his  Satanic  Majesty  laughingly  fox-trotted  off 
but  were  not  lost  to  me  in  the  throng. 

I  soon  found  myself  talking  to  a  young  lady  in  a 
spotted  domino.  She  seemed  to  have  a  peculiar  fasci 
nation  for  me,  yet  she  did  not  monopolize  all  my  at 
tention.  As  we  trotted  past  the  door,  I  could  see 
down  the  hall.  Jennings  was  still  admitting  late  ar 
rivals,  and  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  one  costumed  as  a 
gray  friar,  his  cowl  over  his  head  and  his  eyes  masked. 

Chatting,  we  had  circled  about  to  the  conservatory. 
A  number  of  couples  were  there  and,  through  the 
palms,  I  saw  Elaine  and  Mephisto  laughingly  make 
their  way. 

As  my  spotted  domino  partner  and  I  swung  around 
again,  I  happened  to  catch  another  glimpse  of  the  ^ray 
friar.  He  was  not  dancing,  but  walking,  or  rather 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR  145 

stalking,  about  the  edge  of  the  room,  gazing  about  as 
if  searching  for  some  one. 

In  the  conservatory,  Elaine  and  Mephisto  had  seated 
themselves  in  the  breeze  of  an  open  window,  some 
what  in  the  shadow. 

"  You  are  Miss  Dodge,"  he  said  earnestly. 

"  You  knew  me?  "  she  laughed.     "  And  you?  " 

He  raised  his  mask,  disclosing  the  handsome  face 
and  fascinating  eyes  of  Del  Mar. 

"  I  hope  you  don't  think  I'm  here  in  character,"  he 
laughed  easily,  as  she  started  a  bit. 

*'  i — I — wei^  I  didn't  think  it  was  you,"  she  blurted 
out. 

"  Ah — then  there  is  some  one  else  you  care  more  to 
dance  with?  " 

"  No — no  one — no." 

"I  may  hope,  then?" 

He  had  moved  closer  and  almost  touched  her  hand. 
The  pointed  hood  of  the  gray  friar  in  the  palms 
showed  that  at  last  he  saw  what  he  sought. 

"  No — no.  Please — excuse  me,"  she  murmured  ris 
ing  and  hurrying  back  to  the  ballroom. 

A  subtle  smile  spread  over  the  gray  friar's  masked 
face. 

Of  course  I  had  known  Elaine.  Whether  she  knew 
me  at  once  I  don't  know  or  whether  it  was  an  accident, 
but  she  approached  me  as  I  paused  in  the  dance  a 
moment  with  my  domino  girl. 

"  From  the — sublime — to  the  ridiculous,"  she  cried 
excitedly. 

My  partner  gave  her  a  sharp  glance.     "  You  will 

excuse  me  ?  "  she  said,  and,  as  I  bowed,  almost  ran  off 
10 


146  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

to  the  conservatory,  leaving  Elaine  to  dance  off  with 
me. 


Del  Mar,  quite  surprised  at  the  sudden  flight  of 
Elaine  from  his  side,  followed  more  slowly  through 
the  palms. 

As  he  did  so  he  passed  a  Mexican  attired  in  brilliant 
native  costume.  At  a  sign  from  Del  Mar  he  paused 
and  received  a  small  package  which  Del  Mar  slipped 
to  him,  then  passed  on  as  though  nothing  had  hap 
pened.  The  keen  eyes  of  the  gray  friar,  however,  had 
caught  the  1'ttle  action  and  he  quietly  slipped  out  after 
the  Mexican  bolero. 

Just  then  the  domino  girl  hurried  into  the  conser 
vatory.  "What's  doing?"  she  asked  eagerly. 

"  Keep  close  to  me,"  whispered  Del  1  lar,  as  she 
nodded  and  they  left  the  conservatory,  not  apparently 
together. 

Up-stairs,  away  from  the  gayety  of  the  ballroom, 
the  bolero  made  his  way  until  he  came  to  Elaine's 
room,  dimly  lighted.  With  a  quick  glance  about,  he 
entered  cautiously,  closed  the  door,  and  approached  a 
closet  which  he  opened.  There  was  a  safe  built  into 
the  wall. 

As  he  stooped  over,  the  man  unwrapped  the  pack 
age  Del  Mar  had  handed  him  and  took  out  a  curious 
little  instrument.  Inside  was  a  dry  battery  and  a  most 
peculiar  instrument,  something  like  a  little  flat  tele 
phone  transmitter,  yet  attached  by  wires  to  ear-pieces 
that  fitted  over  the  head  after  the  manner  of  those  of 
a  wireless  detector. 

He  adjusted  the  head-piece  and  held  the  flat  instru- 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR 

ment  against  the  safe,  close  to  the  combination  which 
he  began  to  turn  slowly.  It  was  a  burglar's  micro 
phone,  used  for  picking  combination  locks.  As  the 
combination  turned,  a  slight  sound  was  made  when 
the  proper  number  came  opposite  the  working  point. 
Imperceptible  ordinarily  to  even  the  most  sensitive  ear, 
to  an  ear  trained  it  was  comparatively  easy  to  recog 
nize  the  fall  of  the  tumblers  over  this  microphone. 

As  he  worked,  the  door  behind  him  opened  softly 
and  the  gray  friar  entered,  closing  it  and  moving  noise 
lessly  over  back  of  the  shelter  of  a  big  mahogany 
high-boy,  around  which  he  could  watch. 

At  last  the  safe  was  opened.  Rapidly  the  man  went 
through  its  contents.  "Confound  it!"  he  muttered. 
"  She  didn't  put  it  here — anyhow." 

The  bolero  started  to  close  the  safe  when  he  heard 
a  noise  in  the  room  and  looked  cautiously  back  of  him. 
Del  Mar  himself,  followed  by  the  domino  girl,  en 
tered. 

"  I've  opened  it,"  whispered  the  emissary  stepping 
out  of  the  closet  and  meeting  them,  "but  I  can't  find 
the " 

"Hands  up— all  of  you!" 

They  turned  in  time  to  see  the  gray  friar's  gun 
yawning  at  them.  Most  politely  he  lined  them  up. 
Still  holding  his  gun  ready,  he  lifted  up  the  mask  of 
the  domino  girl. 

"  So — it's  you,"  he  grunted. 

He  was  about  to  lift  the  mask  of  the  Mexican,  when 
the  bolero  leaped  at  him.  Del  Mar  piled  in.  But 
sounds  down-stairs  alarmed  them  and  the  emissary, 
released,  fled  quickly  with  the  girl.  The  gray  friar, 


148          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

however,  kept  his  hold  on  Mephistopheles,  as  if  he 
had  been  wrestling  with  a  veritable  devil. 


Down  in  the  hall,  I  had  again  met  my  domino  girl, 
a  few  minutes  after  I  had  resigned  Elaine  to  another 
of  her  numerous  admirers. 

"  I  thought  you  deserted  me,"  I  said,  somewhat 
piqued. 

"  You  deserted  me,"  she  parried,  nervously. 
"  However,  I'll  forgive  you  if  you'll  get  me  an  ice." 

I  hastened  to  do  so.  But  no  sooner  had  I  gone  than 
Del  Mar  stalked  through  the  hall  and  went  up-stairs. 
My  domino  girl  was  watching  for  him,  and  followed. 

When  I  returned  with  the  ice,  I  looked  about,  but 
she  was  gone.  It  was  scarcely  a  moment  later,  how 
ever,  that  I  saw  her  hurry  down-stairs,  accompanied  by 
the  Mexican  bolero.  I  stepped  forward  to  speak  to  her, 
but  she  almost  ran  past  me  without  a  word. 

"  A  nut,"  I  remarked  under  my  breath,  pushing 
back  my  mask. 

I  started  to  eat  the  ice  myself,  when,  a  moment  later, 
Elaine  passed  through  the  hall  with  a  Spanish  cavalier. 

"  Oh,  Walter,  here  you  are,"  she  laughed.  "  I've 
been  looking  all  over  for  you.  Thank  you  very  much, 
sire,"  she  bowed  with  mock  civility  to  the  cavalier. 
"  It  was  only  one  dance,  you  know.  Please  let  me 
talk  to  Boum-Boum." 

The  cavalier  bowed  reluctantly  and  left  us. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here  alone?"  she  asked,  tak 
ing  off  her  own  mask.  "  How  warm  it  is." 

Before  I  could  reply,  I  heard  some  one  coming 
down-stairs  back  of  me,  but  not  in  time  to  turft. 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR  149 

"  Elaine's  dressing-table,"  a  voice  whispered  in  my 
ear. 

I  turned  suddenly.  It  was  the  gray  friar.  Before 
I  could  even  reach  out  to  grasp  his  robe,  he  was  gone. 

"  Another  nut !  "  I  exclaimed  involuntarily. 

"  Why,  what  did  he  say?  "  asked  Elaine. 

"  Something  about  your  dressing-table." 

"My  dressing-table?"  she  repeated. 

We  ran  quickly  up  the  steps.  Elaine's  room  showed 
every  evidence  of  having  been  the  scene  of  a  struggle, 
as  she  went  over  to  the  table.  There  she  picked  up  a 
rose  and  under  it  a  piece  of  paper  on  which  were  some 
words  printed  with  pencil  roughly. 

"  Look,"  she  cried,  as  I  read  with  her : 

Do  honest  assistants  search  safes? 
Let  no  one  see  this  but  Jameson. 

"What  does  it  mean?"  I  asked. 

"  My  safe !  "  she  cried  moving  to  a  closet.  As  she 
opened  the  door,  imagine  our  surprise  at  seeing  Del 
Mar  lying  on  the  floor,  bound  and  gagged  before  the 
open  safe.  "  Get  my  scissors  on  the  dresser,"  cried 
Elaine. 

I  did  so,  hastily  cutting  the  cords  that  bound  Del 
Mar. 

"  What  does  it  all  mean  ?  "  asked  Elaine  as  he  rose 
and  stretched  himself. 

Still  clutching  his  throat,  as  if  it  hurt,  Del  Mar 
choked,  "  I  found  a  man,  a  foreign  agent,  searching 
the  safe.  But  he  overcame  me  and  escaped." 

"  Oh— then  that  is  what  the — " 


150          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Elaine  checked  herself.  She  had  been  about  to 
hand  the  note  to  Del  Mar  when  an  idea  seemed  to 
come  to  her.  Instead,  she  crumpled  it  up  and  thrust  it 
into  her  bosom. 

On  the  street  the  bolero  and  the  domino  girl  were 
hurrying  away  as  fast  as  they  could. 

Meanwhile,  the  gray  friar  had  overcome  Del  Mar, 
had  bound  and  gagged  him,  and  trust  him  into  the 
closet.  Then  he  wrote  the  note  and  laid  it,  with  a 
rose  from  a  vase,  on  Elaine's  dressing-table  before  he, 
too,  followed. 

More  than  ever  I  was  at  a  loss  to  make  it  out. 

It  was  the  day  after  the  masquerade  ball  that  a 
taxicab  drove  up  to  the  Dodge  house  and  a  very  trim 
but  not  over-dressed  young  lady  was  announced  as 
"  Miss  Bertholdi." 

"  Miss  Dodge  ?  "  she  inquired  as  Jennings  held  open 
the  portieres  and  she  entered  the  library  where  Elaine 
and  Aunt  Josephine  were. 

If  Elaine  had  only  known,  it  was  the  domino  girl  of 
the  night  before  who  handed  her  a  note  and  sat  down, 
looking  about  so  demurely,  while  Elaine  read: 

MY  DEAR  Miss  DODGE, 

The  bearer,  Miss  Bertholdi,  is  an  operative  of  mine. 
I  would  appreciate  it  if  you  would  employ  her  in  some 
capacity  in  your  house,  as  I  have  reason  to  believe  that 
certain  foreign  agents  will  soon  make  another  attempt 
to  find  Kennedy's  lost  torpedo  model. 

Sincerely, 

M.  DEL  MAR. 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR  151 

Elaine  looked  up  from  reading  the  note.  Miss 
Bertholdi  was  good  to  look  at,  and  Elaine  liked  pretty 
girls  about  her. 

"  Jennings,"  she  ordered,  "  call  Marie." 

To  the  butler  and  her  maid,  Elaine  gave  the  most 
careful  instructions  regarding  Miss  Bertholdi.  "  She 
can  help  you  finish  the  packing,  first,"  she  concluded. 

The  girl  thanked  her  and  went  out  with  Jennings 
and  Marie,  asking  Jennings  to  pay  her  taxicab  driver 
,vith  money  she  gave  him,  which  he  did,  bringing  her 
grip  into  the  house. 

Later  in  the  day,  Elaine  had  both  Marie  and  Ber 
tholdi  carrying  armsful  of  her  dresses  from  the  closets 
in  her  room  up  to  the  attic  where  the  last  of  her 
trunks  were  being  packed.  On  one  of  the  many  trips, 
Bertholdi  came  alone  into  the  attic,  her  arms  full  as 
usual.  Before  her  were  two  trunks,  very  much  alike, 
open  and  nearly  packed.  She  laid  her  armful  of 
clothes  on  a  chair  near-by  and  pulled  one  of  the  trunks 
forward.  On  the  floor  lay  the  trays  of  both  trunks 
already  packed.  Bertholdi  began  packing  her  burden 
in  one  trunk  which  was  marked  in  big  white  letters, 
"  E.  Dodge." 

Down  in  Elaine's  room  at  the  time  Jennings  entered. 
"  The  expressman  for  the  trunks  is  here,  Miss  Elaine," 
he  announced. 

"  Is  he?  I  wonder  whether  they  are  all  ready," 
Elaine  replied  hurrying  out  of  the  room.  "  Tell  him 
to  wait." 

In  the  attic,  Bertholdi  was  still  at  work,  keeping  her 
eyes  open  to  execute  the  mission  on  which  Del  Mar 
had  sent  her. 


152  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Rusty,  forgotten  in  the  excitement  by  Jennings,  had 
roamed  at  will  through  the  house  and  seemed  quite 
interested.  For  this  was  the  trunk  behind  which  he 
had  his  cache  of  treasures. 

As  Bertholdi  started  to  move  behind  the  trunk, 
Rusty  could  stand  it  no  longer.  He  darted  ahead  of 
her  into  his  hiding-place.  Among  the  dog  biscuit  and 
bones  was  the  torpedo  model  which  he  had  dug  up 
from  the  palm  pot  in  the  conservatory.  He  seized  it 
in  his  mouth  and  turned  to  carry  it  off. 

There,  in  his  path,  was  his  enemy,  the  new  girl. 
Quick  as  a  flash,  she  saw  what  it  was  Rusty  had,  and 
grabbed  at  it. 

"  Get  out ! "  she  ordered,  looking  at  her  prize  in 
triumph  and  turning  it  over  and  over  in  her  hands. 

At  that  moment  she  heard  Elaine  on  the  stairs. 
What  should  she  do  ?  She  must  hide  it.  She  looked 
about.  There  was  the  tray,  packed  and  lying  on  the 
floor  near  the  trunk  marked,  "  E.  Dodge."  She  thrust 
it  hastily  into  the  tray  pulling  a  garment  over  it. 

"  Nearly  through?  "  panted  Elaine. 

"  Yes,  Miss  Dodge." 

"  Then  please  tell  the  expressman  to  come  up." 

Bertholdi  hesitated,  chagrined.  Yet  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  obey.  She  looked  at  the  trunk  by 
the  tray  to  fix  it  in  her  mind,  then  went  down-stairs. 

As  she  left  the  room,  Elaine  lifted  the  tray  into  the 
trunk  and  tried  to  close  the  lid.  But  the  tray  was  too 
high.  She  looked  puzzled.  On  the  floor  was  another 
tray  almost  identical. 

"  The  wrong  trunk,"  she  smiled  to  herself,  lifting 
the  tray  out  and  putting  the  other  one  in,  while  she 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR  153 

placed  the  first  tray  with  the  torpedo  concealed  in  the 
other,  unmarked,  trunk  where  it  belonged.  Then  she 
closed  the  first  trunk. 

A  moment  later  the  expressman  entered,  with  Ber- 
tholdi. 

"  You  may  take  that  one,"  indicated  Elaine. 

"  Miss  Dodge,  here's  something  else  to  go  in,"  said 
Bertholdi  in  desperation,  picking  up  a  dress. 

'*  Never  mind.     Put  it  in  the  other  trunk." 

Bertholdi  was  baffled,  but  she  managed  to  control 
herself.  She  must  get  word  to  Del  Mar  about  that 
trunk  marked  "  E.  Dodge." 

Late  that  afternoon,  before  a  cheap  restaurant 
might  have  been  seen  our  old  friend  who  had  posed  as 
Bailey  and  as  the  Mexican.  He  entered  the  restaurant 
and  made  his  way  to  the  first  of  a  row  of  booths  on 
one  side. 

"  Hello,"  he  nodded  to  a  girl  in  the  booth. 

Bertholdi  nodded  back  and  he  took  his  seat.  She 
had  begged  an  hour  or  two  off  on  some  pretext. 

Outside  the  restaurant,  a  heavily-bearded  man  had 
been  standing  looking  intently  at  nothing  in  particular 
when  Bertholdi  entered.  As  Bailey  came  along,  he 
followed  and  took  the  next  booth,  his  hat  pulled  over 
his  eyes.  In  a  moment  he  was  listening,  his  ear  close 
up  to  the  partition. 

"  Well,  what  luck?  "  asked  Bailey.  "  Did  you  .-ret  a 
clue?" 

"  I  had  the  torpedo  model  in  my  hands,"  she  replied, 
excitedly  telling  the  story.  "  It  is  in  a  trunk  marked 
'  E.  Dodge.'  " 


154  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

All  this  and  more  the  bearded  stranger  drank  in 
eagerly. 

A  moment  later  Bailey  and  Bertholdi  left  the  booth 
and  went  out  of  the  restaurant  followed  cautiously  by 
the  stranger.  On  the  street  the  two  emissaries  of  Del 
Mar  stopped  a  moment  to  talk. 

"All  right,  I'll  telephone  him,"  she  said  as  they 
parted  in  opposite  directions. 

The  stranger  took  an  instant  to  make  up  his  mind, 
then  followed  the  girl.  She  continued  down  the  street 
until  she  came  to  a  store  with  telephone  booths.  The 
bearded  stranger  followed  still,  into  the  next  booth 
but  did  not  call  a  number.  He  had  his  ear  to  the  wall. 

He  could  hear  her  call  Del  Mar,  and  although  he 
could  not  hear  Del  Mar's  answers,  she  repeated  enough 
for  him  to  catch  the  drift.  Finally,  she  came  out,  and 
the  stranger,  instead  of  following  her  further,  took  the 
other  direction  hurriedly. 

Del  Mar  himself  received  the  news  with  keen  ex 
citement.  Quickly  he  gave  instructions  and  prepared 
to  leave  his  rooms. 

A  short  time  later  his  car  pulled  up  before  the  La 
Coste  and,  in  a  long  duster  and  cap,  Del  Mar  jumped 
in,  and  was  off. 

Scarcely  had  his  car  swung  up  the  avenue  when, 
from  an  alleyway  down  the  street  from  the  hotel,  the 
chug-chug  of  a  motor-cycle  sounded.  A  bearded  man, 
his  face  further  hidden  by  a  pair  of  goggles,  ran  out 
with  his  machine,  climbed  on  and  followed. 

On  out  into  the  country  Del  Mar's  car  sped.  At 
every  turn  the  motor-cycle  dropped  back  a  bit,  ob- 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR  155 

served  the  turn,  then  crept  up  and  took  it,  too.     So 
they  went  for  some  time. 


On  the  level  of  the  Grand  Central  where  the  trains 
left  for  the  Connecticut  shore  where  Elaine's  summer 
home  was  located,  Bailey  was  now  edging  his  way 
through  the  late  crowd  down  the  platform.  He  paused 
before  the  baggage-car  just  as  one  of  the  baggage 
motor  trucks  rolled  up  loaded  high  with  trunks  and 
bags.  He  stepped  back  as  the  men  loaded  the  luggage 
on  the  car,  watching  carefully. 

As  they  tossed  on  one  trunk  marked  "  E.  Dodge," 
he  turned  with  a  subtle  look  and  walked  away.  Finally 
he  squirmed  around  to  the  other  platform.  No  one 
was  looking  and  he  mounted  the  rear  of  the  baggage- 
car  and  opened  the  door.  There  was  the  baggageman 
sitting  by  the  side  door,  his  back  to  Bailey.  Bailey 
closed  the  door  softly  and  squeezed  behind  a  pile  of 
trunks  and  bags. 

Finally  Del  Mar  reached  a  spot  on  the  railroad 
where  there  were  both  a  curve  and  a  grade  ahead.  He 
stopped  his  car  and  got  out. 

Down  the  road  the  bearded  and  goggled  motor 
cyclist  stopped  just  in  time  to  avoid  observation.  To 
make  sure,  he  drew  a  pocket  field-glass  and  leveled  it 
ahead. 

"  Wait  here,"  ordered  Del  Mar.  "  I'll  call  when  I 
want  you." 

Back  on  the  road  the  bearded  cyclist  could  see  Del 
Mar  move  down  the  track  though  he  could  not  hear 
the  directions.  It  was  not  necessary,  however.  He 


156  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

dragged  his  machine  into  the  bushes,  hid  it,  and  hur 
ried  down  the  road  on  foot. 

Del  Mar's  chauffeur  was  waiting  idly  at  the  wheel 
when  suddenly  the  cold  nose  of  a  revolver  was  stuck 
under  his  chin. 

"  Not  a  word — and  hands  up — or  I'll  let  the  moon 
light  through  you,"  growled  out  a  harsh  voice. 

Nevertheless,  the  chauffeur  managed  to  lurch  out  of 
the  car  and  the  bearded  stranger,  whose  revolver  it 
was,  found  that  he  would  have  to  shoot.  Del  Mar  was 
not  far  enough  away  to  risk  it. 

The  chauffeur  flung  himself  on  him  and  they  strug 
gled  fiercely,  rolling  over  and  over  in  the  dust  of  the 
road. 

But  the  bearded  stranger  had  a  grip  of  steel  and 
managed  to  get  his  fingers  about  the  chauffeur's  throat 
as  an  added  insurance  against  a  cry  for  help. 

He  choked  him  literally  into  insensibility.  Then, 
with  a  strength  that  he  did  not  seem  to  possess,  he 
picked  up  the  limp,  blue-faced  body  and  carried  it  off 
the  road  and  around  the  car. 

In  the  baggage-car,  the  baggageman  was  smoking  a 
surreptitious  pipe  of  powerful  tobacco  between  stations 
and  contemplating  the  scenery  thoughtfully  through 
the  open  door. 

As  the  engine  slowed  up  to  take  a  curve  and  a  grade, 
Bailey  who  had  now  and  then  taken  a  peep  out  of  a 
little  grated  window  above  him,  crept  out  from  his 
hiding-place.  Already  rr  had  slipped  a  dark  silk  mask 
over  his  face. 

As  he  made  his  way  among  the  trunks  and  boxes, 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR  157 

the  train  lurched  and  the  baggageman  who  had  his 
back  to  Bailey  heard  him  catch  himself.  He  turned 
and  leaped  to  his  feet.  Bailey  closed  with  him  in 
stantly. 

Over  and  over  they  rolled.  Bailey  had  already 
drawn  his  revolver  before  h^  left  his  hiding-place.  A 
shot,  however,  would  have  been  fatal  to  his  part  in  the 
plans  and  was  only  a  last  resort  for  it  would  have 
brought  the  trainmen. 

Finally  Bailey  rolled  his  man  over  and  getting  his 
right  arm  free,  dealt  the  baggageman  a  fierce  blow  with 
the  butt  of  the  gun. 

The  train  was  now  pulling  slowly  up  the  grade. 
More  time  had  been  spent  in  overcoming  the  baggage 
man  than  he  expected  and  Bailey  had  to  work  quickly. 
He  dragged  the  trunk  marked  "E.  Dodge"  from  the 
pile  to  the  door  and  glanced  out. 


Just  around  the  curve  in  the  railroad,  Del  Mar  was 
waiting,  straining  his  eyes  down  the  track. 

There  was  the  train,  puffing  up  the  grade.  As  it 
approached  he  rose  and  waved  his  arms.  It  was  the 
signal  and  he  waited  anxiously.  Had  his  plans  been 
carried  out? 

The  train  passed.  From  the  baggage-car  came  a 
trunk  catapulted  out  by  a  strong  arm.  It  hurtled 
through  the  air  and  landed  with  its  own  and  the  train's 
momentum. 

Over  it  rolled  in  the  bushes,  then  stopped — unbroken, 
for  Elaine  had  had  it  designed  to  resist  even  the  most 
violent  baggage-smasher. 


158  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Del  Mar  ran  to  it.  As  the  tail  light  of  the  train  dis 
appeared  he  turned  around  in  the  direction  from  which 
he  had  come,  placed  his  two  hands  to  his  mouth  and 
shouted. 


From  the  side  of  the  road  by  Del  Mar's  car  the 
bearded  motor-cyclist  had  just  emerged,  buttoning  the 
chauffeur's  clothes  and  adjusting  his  goggles  to  his 
own  face. 

As  he  approached  the  car,  he  heard  a  shout.  Quickly 
he  tore  off  the  black  beard  which  had  been  his  disguise 
and  tossed  it  into  the  grass.  Then  he  drew  the  coat 
high  up  about  his  neck. 

"All  right!"  he  shouted  back,  starting  along  the 
road. 

Together  he  and  Del  Mar  managed  to  scramble  up 
the  embankment  to  the  road  and,  one  at  each  handle  of 
the  trunk,  they  carried  it  back  to  the  car,  piling  it  in 
the  back. 

The  improvised  chauffeur  started  to  take  his  place 
at  the  wheel  and  Del  Mar  had  his  foot  on  the  running- 
board  to  get  beside  him,  when  the  now  unbearded  stran 
ger  suddenly  swung  about  and  struck  Del  Mar  full  in 
the  face.  It  sent  him  reeling  back  into  the  dust. 

The  engine  of  the  car  had  been  running  and  before 
Del  Mar  could  recover  consciousness,  the  stranger  had 
shot  the  car  ahead,  leaving  Del  Mar  prone  in  the  road 
way. 

The  train,  with  Bailey  on  it,  had  not  gained  much 
speed,  yet  it  was  a  perilous  undertaking  to  leap.  Still, 


THE  GRAY  FRIAR  159 

it  was  more  so  now  to  remain.  The  baggageman 
stirred.  It  was  now  a  case  of  murder  or  a  getaway. 

Bailey  jumped. 

Scratched  and  bruised  and  shaken,  he  scrambled  to 
his  feet  in  the  briars  along  the  track.  He  staggered  up 
to  the  road,  pulled  himself  together,  then  hurried  back 
as  fast  as  his  barked  shins  would  let  him. 

He  came  to  the  spot  which  he  recognized  as  that 
where  he  had  thrown  off  the  trunk.  He  saw  the  tram 
pled  and  broken  bushes  and  made  for  the  road. 

He  had  not  gone  far  when  he  saw,  far  down,  Del 
Mar  suddenly  attacked  and  thrown  down,  apparently 
by  his  own  chauffeur.  Bailey  ran  forward,  but  it  was 
too  late.  The  car  was  gone. 

As  he  came  up  to  Del  Mar  lying  outstretched  in  the 
road,  Del  Mar  was  just  recovering  consciousness. 

"What  was  the  matter?"  he  asked.  "Was  he  a 
traitor?" 

He  caught  sight  of  the  real  chauffeur  on  the  ground, 
stripped. 

Del  Mar  was  furious.  "  No,"  he  swore,  "  it  was 
that  confounded  gray  friar  again,  I  think.  And  he 
has  the  trunk,  too !  " 


Speeding  up  the  road  the  former  masquerader  and 
motor-cyclist  stopped  at  last. 

Eagerly  he  leaped  out  of  Del  Mar's  car  and  dragged 
the  trunk  over  the  side  regardless  of  the  enamel. 

It  was  the  work  of  only  a  moment  for  him  to  break 
the  lock  with  a  pocket  jimmy. 

One  after  another  he  pulled  out  and  shook  the  clothes 


160  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

until  frocks  and  gowns  and  lingerie  lay  strewn  all 
about. 

But  there  was  not  a  thing  in  the  trunk  that  even  re 
motely  resembled  the  torpedo  model. 

The  stranger  scowled, 

Where  was  it? 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  VANISHING  MAN 

DEL  MAR  had  evidently,  by  this  time,  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  Elaine  was  the  storm  centre  of  the  pe 
culiar  train  of  events  that  followed  the  disappearance 
of  Kennedy  and  his  wireless  torpedo. 

At  any  rate,  as  soon  as  he  learned  that  Elaine  was 
going  to  her  country  home  for  the  summer,  he  took  a 
bungalow  some  distance  from  Dodge  Hall.  In  fact,  it 
was  more  than  a  bungalow,  for  it  was  a  pretentious 
place  surrounded  by  a  wide  lawn  and  beautiful  shade 
trees. 

There,  on  the  day  that  Elaine  decided  to  motor  in 
from  the  city,  Del  Mar  arrived  with  his  valet. 

Evidently  he  lost  no  time  in  getting  to  work  on  his 
own  affairs,  whatever  they  might  be.  Inside  his  study, 
which  was  the  largest  room  in  the  house,  a  combination 
of  both  library  and  laboratory,  he  gave  an  order  or 
two  to  his  valet,  then  immediately  sat  down  to  his  new 
desk.  He  opened  a  drawer  and  took  out  a  long  hollow 
cylinder,  closed  at  each  end  by  air-tight  caps,  on  one  of 
which  was  a  hook. 

Quickly  he  wrote  a  note  and  read  it  over :  "  Install 
submarine  bell  in  place  of  these  clumsy  tubes.  Am 
having  harbor  and  bridges  mined  as  per  instructions 
from  Government.  D." 

161 


162  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

He  unscrewed  the  cap  at  one  end  of  the  tube,  inserted 
the  note  and  closed  it.  Then  he  pushed  a  button  on  his 
desk.  A  panel  in  the  wall  opened  and  one  of  the  men 
who  had  played  policeman  once  for  him  stepped  out 
and  saluted. 

"  Here's  a  message  to  send  below,"  said  Del  Mar 
briefly. 

The  man  bowed  and  went  back  through  the  panel, 
closing  it. 

Del  Mar  cleaned  up  his  desk  and  then  went  out  to 
look  his  new  quarters  over,  to  see  whether  everything 
had  been  prepared  according  to  his  instructions. 

From  the  concealed  entrance  to  a  cave  on  a  hillside, 
Del  Mar's  man  who  had  gone  through  the  panel  in  the 
bungalow  appeared  a  few  minutes  later  and  hurried 
down  to  the  shore.  It  was  a  rocky  coast  with  stretches 
of  cliffs  and  now  and  then  a  ravine  and  bit  of  sandy 
beach.  Gingerly  he  climbed  down  the  rocks  to  the 
water. 

He  took  from  his  pocket  the  metal  tube  which  Del 
Mar  had  given  him  and  to  the  hook  on  one  end  at 
tached  a  weight  of  lead.  A  moment  he  looked  about 
cautiously.  Then  he  threw  the  tube  into  the  water  and 
it  sank  quickly.  He  did  not  wait,  but  hurried  back  into 
the  cave  entrance. 

Elaine,  Aunt  Josephine  and  I  motored  down  to 
Dodge  Hall  from  the  city.  Elaine's  country  house  was 
on  a  fine  estate  near  the  Long  Island  Sound  and  after 
the  long  run  we  were  glad  to  pull  up  before  the  big 
house  and  get  out  of  the  car.  As  we  approached  the 
door,  I  happened  to  look  down  the  road. 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  163 

"  Well,  that's  the  country,  all  right,"  I  exclaimed, 
pointing  down  the  road.  "  Look." 

Lumbering  along  was  a  huge  heavy  hay  rack  on  top 
of  which  perched  a  farmer  chewing  a  straw.  Follow 
ing  along  after  him  was  a  dog  of  a  peculiar  shepherd 
breed  which  I  did  not  recognize.  Atop  of  the  hay  the 
old  fellow  had  piled  a  trunk  and  a  basket. 

To  our  surprise  the  hay  rack  stopped  before  the 
house.  "Miss  Dodge?"  drawled  the  farmer  nasally. 

"  Why,  what  do  you  suppose  he  can  want?  "  asked 
Elaine  moving  out  toward  the  wagon  while  we 
followed.  "Yes?" 

"  Here's  a  trunk,  Miss  Dodge,  with  your  name  on 
it,"  he  went  on  dragging  it  down.  "  I  found  it  down 
by  the  railroad  track." 

It  was  the  trunk  marked  "  E  Dodge  "  which  had 
been  thrown  off  the  train,  taken  by  Del  Mar  and  rifled 
by  the  motor-cyclist. 

"How  do  you  suppose  it  ever  got  he~re?"  cried 
Elaine  in  wonder. 

"  Must  have  fallen  off  the  train,"  I  suggested. 
"  You  migl. :  have  collected  the  insurance  under  this 
new  baggage  law !  " 

"  Jennings,"  called  Elaine.  "  Get  Patrick  and  carry 
the  trunk  in." 

Together  the  butler  and  the  gardener  dragged  it  off. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Elaine,  endeavoring  to  pay  the 
farmer. 

"  No,  no,  Miss,"  he  demurred  as  he  clucked  to  his 
horses. 

We  waved  to  the  old  fellow.  As  he  started  to  drive 
away,  he  reached  down  into  the  basket  and  drew  out 


164  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

some  yellow  harvest  apples.  One  at  a  time  he  tossed 
them  to  us  as  he  lumbered  off. 

"  Truly  rural,"  remarked  a  voice  behind  us. 

It  was  Del  Mar,  all  togged  up  and  carrying  a  maga 
zine  in  his  hand. 

We  chatted  a  moment,  then  Elaine  started  to  go  into 
the  house  with  Aunt  Josephine.  With  Del  Mar  I 
followed. 

As  she  went  Elaine  took  a  bite  of  the  apple.  To 
her  surprise  it  separated  neatly  into  two  hollow  halves. 
She  looked  inside.  There  was  a  note.  Carefully  she 
unfolded  it  and  read.  Like  the  others,  it  was  not 
written  but  printed  in  pencil : 

Be  careful  to  unpack  all  your  trunks  your 
self.     Destroy  this  note. — A  FRIEND. 

What  did  these  mysterious  warnings  mean,  she 
asked  herself  in  amazement.  Somehow  so  far  they 
had  worked  out  all  right.  She  tore  up  the  note  and 
threw  the  pieces  away. 

Del  Mar  and  I  stopped  for  a  moment  to  talk.  I 
did  not  notice  that  he  was  not  listening  to  me,  but  was 
surreptitiously  watching  Elaine. 

Elaine  went  into  the  house  and  we  followed.  Del 
Mar,  however,  dropped  just  a  bit  behind  and,  as  he 
came  to  the  place  where  Elaine  had  thrown  the  pieces 
of  paper,  dropped  his  magazine.  He  stooped  to  pick 
it  up  and  gathered  the  pieces,  then  rejoined  us. 

"  I  hope  you'll  excuse  me,"  said  Elaine  brightly. 
"  We've  just  arrived  and  I  haven't  a  thing  unpacked." 

Del  Mar  bowed  and  Elaine  left  us.    Aunt  Josephine 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  165 

followed  shortly.  Del  Mar  and  I  sat  down  at  a  table. 
As  he  talked  he  placed  the  magazine  in  his  lap  be 
neath  the  table,  on  his  knees.  I  could  not  see,  but  he 
was  in  reality  secretly  putting  together  the  torn  note 
which  the  farmer  had  thrown  to  Elaine. 

Finally  he  managed  to  fit  all  the  pieces.  A  glance 
down  was  enough.  But  his  face  betrayed  nothing. 
Still  under  the  table,  he  swept  the  pieces  into  his 
pocket  and  rose. 

"  I'll  drop  in  when  you  are  more  settled,"  he  ex 
cused  himself,  strolling  leisurely  out  again. 


Up  in  the  bedroom  Elaine's  maid,  Marie,  had  been 
unpacking. 

"Well,  what  do  you  know  about  that?"  she  ex 
claimed  as  Jennings  and  Patrick  came  dragging  in  the 
banged-up  trunk. 

"  Very  queer,"  remarked  Jennings,  detailing  the 
little  he  had  seen,  while  Patrick  left. 

The  entrance  of  Elaine  put  an  end  to  the  interesting 
gossip  and  Marie  started  to  open  the  trunk. 

"  No,  Marie,"  said  Elaine.  "  I'll  unpack  them  my 
self.  You  can  put  the  things  away  later.  You  and 
Jennings  may  go." 

Quickly  she  took  the  things  out  of  the  battered  trunk. 
Then  she  started  on  the  other  trunk  which  was  like  it 
but  not  marked.  She  threw  out  a  couple  of  garments, 
then  paused,  startled. 

There  was  the  lost  torpedo — where  Bertholdi  had 
stuck  it  in  her  haste !  Elaine  picked  it  up  and  looked 
at  it  in  wonder  as  it  recalled  all  those  last  days  before 


i66  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Kennedy  was  lost.    For  the  moment  she  did  not  know 
quite  what  to  make  of  it.     What  should  she  do? 

Finally  she  decided  to  lock  it  up  in  the  bureau 
drawer  and  tell  me.  Not  only  did  she  lock  the  drawer 
but,  as  she  left  her  room,  she  took  the  key  of  the  door 
from  the  lock  inside  and  locked  it  outside. 


Del  Mar  did  not  go  far  from  the  house,  however. 
He  scarcely  reached  the  edge  of  the  grounds  where  he 
was  sure  he  was  not  observed  when  he  placed  his 
fingers  to  his  lips  and  whistled.  An  instant  later  two 
of  his  men  appeared  from  behind  a  hedge. 

"  You  must  get  into  her  room,"  he  ordered.  "  That 
torpedo  is  in  her  luggage  somewhere,  after  all." 

They  bowed  and  disappeared  again  into  the  shrub 
bery  while  Del  Mar  turned  and  retraced  his  steps  to 
the  house. 

In  the  rear  of  the  house  the  two  emissaries  of  Del 
Mar  stole  out  of  the  shelter  of  some  bushes  and  stood 
for  a  moment  looking.  Elaine's  windows  were  high 
above  them,  too  high  to  reach.  There  seemed  to  be  no 
way  to  get  to  them  and  there  was  no  ladder  in  sight. 

"  We'll  have  to  use  the  Dutch  house-man's  method," 
decided  one. 

Together  they  went  around  the  house  toward  the 
laundry.  It  was  only  a  few  minutes  later  that  they 
returned.  No  one  was  about.  Quickly  one  of  them 
took  off  his  coat.  Around  his  waist  he  had  wound  a 
coil  of  rope.  Deftly  he  began  to  climb  a  tree  whose 
upper  branches  fell  over  the  roof.  Cat-like  he  made 
his  way  out  along  a  branch  and  managed  to  reach  the 
roof.  He  made  his  way  along  the  ridge  pole  to  a 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  167 

chimney  which  was  directly  back  of  and  in  line  with 
Elaine's  windows.  Then  he  uncoiled  the  rope  and 
made  one  end  fast  to  the  chimney.  Letting  the  other 
end  fall  free  down  the  roof,  he  carefully  lowered  him 
self  over  the  edge.  Thus  it  was  not  difficult  to  get 
into  Elaine's  room  by  stepping  on  the  window-sill  and 
going  through  the  open  window. 

The  man  began  a  rapid  search  of  the  room,  turning 
up  and  pawing  everything  that  Elaine  had  unpacked. 
Then  he  began  on  the  little  writing-desk,  the  dresser 
and  the  bureau  drawers.  A  subtle  smile  flashed  over 
his  face  as  he  came  to  one  drawer  that  was  locked. 
He  pulled  a  sectional  jimmy  from  his  coat  and  forced 
it  open. 

There  lay  the  precious  torpedo. 

The  man  clutched  at  it  with  a  look  of  exultation. 
Without  another  glance  at  the  room  he  rushed  to  the 
window,  seized  the  rope  and  pulled  himself  to  the  roof, 
going  as  he  had  come. 

It  did  not  take  me  long  to  unpack  the  few  things  I 
had  brought  and  I  was  soon  back  again  in  the  living- 
room,  where  Aunt  Josephine  joined  me  in  a  few  min 
utes. 

Just  as  Elaine  came  hurriedly  down  the  stairway 
and  started  toward  me,  Del  Mar  entered  from  the 
porch.  She  stopped.  Del  Mar  watched  her  closely. 
Had  she  found  anything?  He  was  sure  of  it. 

Her  hesitation  was  only  for  a  moment,  however. 
"Walter,"  she  said,  "may  I  speak  to  you  a  moment? 
Excuse  us,  please  ?  " 

Aunt  Josephine  went  out  toward  the  back  of  the 


168  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

house  to  see  how  the  servants  were  getting  on,  while 
I  followed  Elaine  up-stairs.  Del  Mar  with  a  bow 
seated  himself  and  opened  his  magazine.  No  sooner 
had  we  gone,  however,  than  he  laid  it  down  and  cau 
tiously  followed  us. 

Elaine  was  evidently  very  much  excited  as  she  en 
tered  her  dainty  little  room  and  closed  the  door. 
"  Walter,"  she  cried,  "  I've  found  the  torpedo !  " 

We  looked  about  at  the  general  disorder.  "  Why," 
she  exclaimed  nervously,  "  some  one  has  been  here — 
and  I  locked  the  door,  too." 

She  almost  ran  over  to  her  bureau  drawer.  It  had 
been  jimmied  open  in  the  few  minutes  while  she  was 
down-stairs.  The  torpedo  was  gone.  We  looked  at 
each  other,  aghast. 

Behind  us,  however,  we  did  not  see  the  keen  and 
watchful  eyes  of  Del  Mar,  opening  the  door  and  peer 
ing  in.  As  he  saw  us,  he  closed  the  door  softly,  went 
down-stairs  and  out  of  the  house. 

Perhaps  half  a  mile  down  the  road,  the  farmer  aban 
doned  his  hay  rack  and  now,  followed  by  his  peculiar 
dog,  walked  back.  He  stopped  at  a  point  in  the  road 
where  he  could  see  the  Dodge  house  in  the  distance, 
sat  on  the  rail  fence  and  lighted  a  blackened  corn-cob 
pipe. 

There  he  sat  for  some  time  apparently  engrossed 
in  his  own  thoughts  about  the  weather,  the  dog  lying 
at  his  feet.  Now  and  then  he  looked  fixedly  toward 
Dodge  Hall. 

Suddenly  his  vagrant  attention  seemed  to  be  riveted 
on  the  house.  He  drew  a  field-glass  from  his  pocket 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  169 

and  levelled  it.  Sure  enough,  there  was  a  man  coming 
out  of  a  window,  pulling  himself  up  to  the  roof  by  a 
rope  and  going  across  the  roof  tree.  He  lowered  the 
glasses  quickly  and  climbed  off  the  fence  with  a  hith 
erto  unwonted  energy. 

"  Come,  Searchlight,"  he  called  to  the  dog,  as  to 
gether  they  moved  off  quickly  in  the  direction  he  had 
been  looking. 

Del  Mar's  men  were  coming  through  the  hedge  that 
surrounded  the  Dodge  estate  just  as  the  farmer  and 
his  dog  stepped  out  in  front  of  them  from  behind  a 
thicket. 

"  Just  a  minute,"  he  called.  "  I  want  to  speak  to 
you." 

He  enforced  his  words  with  a  vicious  looking  gun. 
It  was  two  to  one  and  they  closed  with  him.  Before 
he  could  shoot,  they  had  knocked  the  gun  out  of  his 
hand.  Then  they  tried  to  break  away  and  run. 

But  the  farmer  seized  one  of  them  and  held  him. 
Meanwhile  the  clog  developed  traits  all  his  own.  He 
ran  in  and  out  between  the  legs  of  the  other  man  until 
he  threw  him.  There  he  stood,  over  him.  The  man 
attempted  to  rise.  Again  the  dog  threw  him  and  kept 
him  down.  He  was  a  trained  Belgian  sheep  hound,  a 
splendid  police  dog. 

"  Confound  the  brute,"  growled  the  man,  reaching 
for  his  gun. 

As  he  drew  it,  the  dog  seized  his  wrist  and  with  a 
fry  the  man  dropped  the  gun.  That,  too,  was  part  of 
the  dog's  training. 

While  the  farmer  and  the  other  man  struggled  on 
:'he  ground,  the  torpedo  worked  its  way  half  from 


170  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

the  man's  pocket.  The  farmer  seized  it.  The  maij 
fell  back,  limp,  and  the  farmer,  with  the  torpedo  in 
one  hand,  grasped  at  the  gun  on  the  ground  and 
straightened  up. 

He  had  no  sooner  risen  than  the  man  was  at  him 
again.  His  unconsciousness  had  been  merely  feigned. 
The  struggle  was  renewed. 

At  that  point,  the  hedge  down  the  road  parted  and 
Del  Mar  stepped  out.  A  glance  was  enough  to  tell 
him  what  was  going  on.  He  drew  his  gun  and  ran 
swiftly  toward  the  combatants. 

As  Del  Mar  approached,  his  man  succeeded  in 
knocking  the  torpedo  from  the  farmer's  hand.  There 
it  lay,  several  feet  away.  There  seemed  to  be  no 
chance  for  either  man  to  get  it. 

Quickly  the  farmer  bent  his  wrist,  aiming  the  gun 
deliberately  at  the  precious  torpedo.  As  fast  as  he 
could  he  pulled  the  trigger.  Five  of  the  six  shots  pene 
trated  the  little  model. 

So  surprised  was  his  antagonist  that  the  farmer 
was  able  to  knock  him  out  with  the  butt  of  his  gun. 
He  broke  away  and  fled,  whistling  on  a  police  whistle 
for  the  dog  just  as  Del  Mar  ran  up.  A  couple  of  shots 
from  Del  Mar  flew  wild  as  the  farmer  and  his  dog  dis 
appeared. 

Del  Alar  stopped  and  picked  up  the  model.  It  had 
been  shot  into  an  unrecognizable  mass  of  scrap.  In  a 
fury,  Del  Mar  dashed  it  on  the  ground,  cursing  his 
men  as  he  did  so. 

The  strange  disappearance  of  the  torpedo  model 
from  Elaine's  room  worried  both  of  us.  Doubtless  if 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  171 

Kennedy  had  been  there  he  would  have  known  just 
what  to  do.  But  we  could  not  decide. 

"  Really,"  considered  Elaine,  "  I  think  we  had  bet 
ter  take  Mr.  Del  Mar  into  our  confidence." 

"  Still,  we've  had  a  great  many  warnings,"  I  ob 
jected. 

"  I  know  that,"  she  persisted,  "  but  they  have  all 
come  from  very  unreliable  sources." 

"  Very  well,"  I  agreed  finally,  "  then  let's  drive 
over  to  his  bungalow." 

Elaine  ordered  her  little  runabout  and  a  few  mo 
ments  later  we  climbed  into  it  and  Elaine  shot  the  car 
away. 

As  we  rode  along,  the  country  seemed  so  quiet  that 
no  one  would  ever  have  suspected  that  foreign  agents 
lurked  all  about.  But  it  was  just  under  such  a  cover 
that  the  nefarious  bridge  and  harbor-mining  work 
ordered  by  Del  Mar's  superiors  was  going  ahead 
quietly. 

As  our  car  climbed  a  hill  on  the  other  side  of  which, 
in  the  valley,  was  a  bridge,  we  could  not  see  one  of 
Del  Mar's  men  in  hiding  at  the  top.  He  saw  us,  how 
ever,  and  immediately  wigwagged  with  his  handker 
chief  to  several  others  down  at  the  bridge  where  they 
were  attaching  a  pair  of  wires  to  the  planking. 

"  Some  one  coming,"  muttered  one  who  was  evi 
dently  a  lookout. 

The  men  stopped  work  immediately  and  hid  in  the 
brush.  Our  car  passed  over  the  bridge  and  we  saw 
nothing  wrong.  But  no  sooner  had  we  gone  than  the 
men  crept  out  and  resumed  work  which  had  progressed 
to  the  point  where  they  were  ready  to  carry  the  wires 


172  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

of  an  electric  connection  through  the  grass,  concealing 
them  as  they  went. 

In  the  study  of  his  bungalow,  all  this  time,  Del  Mar 
was  striding  angrily  up  and  down,  while  his  men 
waited  in  silence. 

Finally  he  paused  and  turned  to  one  of  them.  "  See 
that  the  coast  is  clear  and  kept  clear,"  he  ordered.  "  I 
want  to  go  down." 

The  man  saluted  and  went  out  through  the  panel.  A 
moment  later  Del  Mar  gave  some  orders  to  the  other 
man  who  also  saluted  and  left  the  house  by  the  front 
door,  just  as  our  car  pulled  up. 

Del  Mar,  the  moment  the  man  was  gone,  put  on  his 
hat  and  moved  toward  the  panel  in  the  wall.  He  was 
about  to  enter  when  he  heard  some  one  coming  down 
the  hall  to  the  study  and  stepped  back,  closing  the 
panel.  It  was  the  butler  announcing  us. 

We  had  entered  Del  Mar's  bungalow  and  now  were 
conducted  to  his  library.  There  Elaine  told  him  the 
whole  story,  much  to  his  apparent  surprise,  for  Del 
Mar  was  a  wonderful  actor. 

"  You  see,"  he  said  as  she  finished  telling  of  the 
finding  and  the  losing  of  the  torpedo,  "just  what  I 
had  feared  would  happen  has  happened.  Doubtless 
the  foreign  agents  have  the  deadly  weapon,  now. 
However,  I'll  not  quit.  Perhaps  we  may  run  them 
down  yet." 

He  reassured  us  and  we  thanked  him  as  we  said 
good-bye.  Outside,  Elaine  and  I  got  into  the  car 
again  and  a  moment  later  spun  off,  making  a  little 
detour  first  through  the  country  before  hitting  the 
shore  road  back  again  to  Dodge  Hall. 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  173 

On  the  rocky  shore  of  the  promontory,  several  men 
were  engaged  in  sinking  a  peculiar  heavy  disk  which 
they  submerged  about  ten  or  twelve  feet.  It  seemed 
to  be  held  by  a  cable  and  to  it  wires  were  attached, 
apparently  so  that  when  a  key  was  pressed  a  circuit 
was  closed. 

It  was  an  "  oscillator  ",  a  new  system  for  the  em 
ployment  of  sound  for  submarine  signalling,  using 
water  instead  of  air  as  a  medium  to  transmit  sound 
waves.  It  was  composed  of  a  ring  magnet,  a  copper 
tube  lying  in  an  air-gap  in  a  magnetic  field  and  a 
stationary  central  armature.  The  tube  was  attached 
to  a  steel  diaphragm.  Really  it  was  a  submarine  bell 
which  could  be  used  for  telegraphing  or  telephoning 
both  ways  through  water. 

The  men  finished  executing  the  directions  of  Del 
Mar  and  left,  carefully  concealing  the  land  connec 
tions  and  key  of  the  bell,  while  we  were  still  at  Del 
Mar's. 

We  had  no  sooner  left,  however,  than  one  of  the 
men  who  had  been  engaged  in  installing  the  submarine 
bell  entered  the  library. 

"  Well?  "  demanded  Del  Mar. 

"  The  bell  is  installed,  sir,"  he  said.  "  It  will  be 
working  soon." 

"  Good,"  nodded  Del  Mar. 

He  went  to  a  drawer  and  from  it  took  a  peculiar 
looking  helmet  to  which  was  attached  a  sort  of  harness 
fitting  over  the  shoulders  and  carrying  a  tank  of  oxy 
gen.  The  head-piece  was  a  most  weird  contrivance, 
with  what  looked  like  a  huge  glass  eye  in  front.  It 
was  in  reality  a  submarine  life-saving  apparatus. 


174  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Del  Mar  put  it  on,  all  except  the  helmet  which  he 
carried  with  him,  and  then,  with  his  assistant,  went 
out  through  the  panel  in  the  wall.  Through  the  under 
ground  passage  the  two  groped  their  way,  lighted 
by  an  electric  torch,  until  at  last  they  came  to  the  en 
trance  hidden  in  the  underbrush,  near  the  shore. 

Del  Mar  went  over  to  the  concealed  station  from 
which  the  submarine  bell  was  sounded  and  pressed  the 
key  as  a  signal.  Then  he  adjusted  the  submarine 
helmet  to  his  head  and  deliberately  waded  out  into  the 
water,  further  and  further,  up  to  his  head,  then  deeper 
still. 

As  he  disappeared  into  the  water,  his  emissary  turned 
and  went  back  toward  the  shore  road. 

The  ride  around  through  the  country  and  back  to 
the  shore  road  from  Del  Mar's  was  pleasant.  In  fact 
it  was  always  pleasant  to  be  with  Elaine,  especially  in 
a  car. 

We  were  spinning  along  at  a  fast  clip  when  we  came 
to  a  rocky  part  of  the  coast.  As  we  made  a  turn  a 
sharp  breeze  took  off  my  hat  and  whirled  it  far  off 
the  road  and  among  the  rocks  of  the  shore.  Elaine 
shut  down  the  engine,  with  a  laugh  at  me,  and  we  left 
the  car  by  the  road  while  we  climbed  down  the  rocks 
after  the  hat. 

It  had  been  carried  into  the  water,  close  to  shore 
and,  still  laughing,  we  clambered  over  the  rocks. 
Elaine  insisted  on  getting  it  herself  and  in  fact  did  get 
it.  She  was  just  about  to  hand  it  to  me,  when  some 
thing  bobbed  up  in  the  water  just  in  front  of  us.  She 
reached  for  it  and  fished  it  out.  It  was  a  cylinder  with 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  175 

air-tight  caps  on  both  ends,  in  one  of  which  was  a 
hook. 

"What  do  you  suppose  it  is?"  she  asked,  looking 
it  over  as  we  made  our  way  up  the  rocks  again  to  the 
car.  "  Where  did  it  come  from?  " 

We  did  not  see  a  man  standing  by  our  car,  but  he 
saw  us.  It  was  Del  Mar's  man  who  had  paused  on  his 
way  to  watch  us.  As  we  approached  he  hid  on  the 
other  side  of  the  road. 

By  this  time  we  had  reached  the  car  and  opened  the 
cylinder.  Inside  was  a  note  which  read : 

"  Chief  arrived  safely.     Keep  watch." 

"What  does  it  mean?"  repeated  Elaine,  mystified. 

Neither  of  us  could  guess  and  I  doubt  whether  we 
would  have  understood  any  better  if  we  had  seen  a 
sinister  face  peering  at  us  from  behind  a  rock  near-by, 
although  doubtless  the  man  knew  what  was  in  the  tube 
and  what  it  meant. 

We  climbed  into  the  car  and  started  again.  As  we 
disappeared,  the  man  came  from  behind  the  rocks  and 
ran  quickly  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  There,  from  the 
bushes,  he  pulled  out  a  peculiar  instrument  composed 
of  a  strange  series  of  lenses  and  mirrors  set  up  on  a 
tripod. 

Eagerly  he  placed  the  tripod,  adjusting  the  lenses 
and  mirrors  in  the  sunlight.  Then  he  began  working 
them,  and  it  was  apparent  that  he  was  flashing  light 
beams,  using  a  Morse  code.  It  was  a  heliograph. 

Down  the  shore  on  the  top  of  the  next  hill  sat  the 
man  who  had  already  given  the  signal  with  the  hand- 


1 76          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

kerchief  to  those  in  the  valley  who  were  working  on 
the  mining  of  the  bridge.  As  he  sat  there,  his  eye 
caught  the  flash  of  the  heliograph  signal.  He  sprang 
up  and  watched  intently.  Rapidly  he  jotted  down  the 
message  that  was  being  flashed  in  the  sunlight : 

Dodge  girl  has  message  from  below. 
Coming  in  car.  Blow  first  bridge  she 
crosses. 

Down  the  valley  the  lookout  made  his  way  as  fast  as 
he  could.  As  he  approached  the  two  men  who  had 
been  mining  the  bridge,  he  whistled  sharply.  They 
answered  and  hurried  to  meet  him. 

"  Just  got  a  heliograph,"  he  panted.  "  The  Dodge 
girl  must  have  picked  up  one  of  the  messages  that 
came  from  below.  She's  coming  over  the  hill  now  in 
a  car.  We've  got  to  blow  up  the  bridge  as  she 
crosses." 

The  men  were  hurrying  now  toward  the  bridge 
which  they  had  mined.  Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost, 
for  already  they  could  see  us  coming  over  the  crest  of 
the  hill. 

In  a  few  seconds  they  reached  the  hidden  plunger 
firing-box  which  had  been  arranged  to  explode  the 
charge  under  the  bridge.  There  they  crouched  in  the 
brush  ready  to  press  the  plunger  the  moment  our  car 
touched  the  planking. 

One  of  the  men  crept  out  a  little  nearer  the  road. 
"They're  coming!"  he  called  back,  dropping  down 
again.  "  Get  ready !  " 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  177 

Del  Mar's  emissaries  had  not  reckoned,  however, 
that  any  one  else  might  be  about  to  whom  the  heli 
ograph  was  an  open  book. 

But,  further  over  on  the  hill,  hiding  among  the 
trees,  the  old  farmer  and  his  dog  were  sitting  quietly. 
The  old  man  was  sweeping  the  Sound  with  his  glasses, 
as  if  he  expected  to  see  something  any  moment. 

To  his  surprise,  however,  he  caught  a  flash  of  the 
heliograph  from  the  land.  Quickly  he  turned  and 
jotted  down  the  signals.  As  he  did  so,  he  seemed 
greatly  excited,  for  the  message  read : 

Dodge  girl  has  message  from  below. 
Coming  in  car.  Blow  first  bridge  she 
crosses. 

Quickly  he  turned  his  glasses  down  the  road.  There 
he  could  see  our  car  rapidly  approaching.  He  put  up 
his  glasses  and  hurried  down  the  hill  toward  the  bridge. 
Then  he  broke  into  a  run,  the  dog  scouting  ahead. 

We  were  going  along  the  road  nicely  now,  coasting 
down  the  hill.  As  we  approached  the  bridge,  Elaine 
slowed  up  a  bit,  to  cross,  for  the  planking  was  loose. 

Just  then  the  farmer  who  had  been  running  down 
the  hill  saw  us. 

"  Stop !  "  he  shouted. 

But  we  did  not  hear.  He  ran  after  us,  but  such  a 
chase  was  hopeless.  He  stopped,  in  despair. 

With  a  gesture  of  vexation  he  took  a  step  or  two 
mechanically  off  the  road. 

Elaine  and  I  were  coming  fast  to  the  bridge  now. 

In  their  hiding-place,  Del  Mar's  men  were  watching 

12 


178  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

breathlessly.  The  leader  was  just  about  to  press  the 
plunger  when  all  of  a  sudden  a  branch  in  the  thicket 
beside  him  crackled.  There  stood  the  farmer  and  his 
dog! 

Instantly  the  farmer  seemed  to  take  in  the  situ 
ation.  With  a  cry  he  threw  himself  at  the  man  who 
had  the  plunger.  Another  man  leaped  at  the  farmer. 
The  dog  settled  him.  The  others  piled  in  and  a  terrific 
struggle  followed.  It  was  all  so  rapid  that,  to  all, 
seconds  seemed  like  hours. 

We  were  just  starting  to  cross  the  bridge. 

One  of  the  men  broke  away  and  crawled  toward  the 
plunger  box. 

Our  car  was  now  in  the  middle  of  the  bridge. 

Over  and  over  rolled  the  men,  the  dog  doing  his 
best  to  help  his  master.  The  man  who  had  broken 
away  reached  toward  the  plunger. 

With  a  shout  he  pushed  it  down. 


Our  car  had  just  cleared  the  bridge  when  we  were 
startled  by  a  terrific  roar  behind  us.  It  was  as  though 
a  thousand  tires  had  blown  out  at  once.  Elaine  shut 
off  the  engine  automatically  and  we  looked  back. 

The  whole  bridge  had  been  blown  up.  A  second  be 
fore  we  had  been  in  the  middle  of  it. 

As  the  explosion  came,  the  men  who  had  been  strug 
gling  in  the  thicket,  paused,  startled,  and  stared  out. 
At  that  instant  the  old  farmer  saw  his  chance.  It 
was  all  over  and  he  bolted,  calling  the  dog. 

Along  the  road  to  the  bridge  he  ran,  two  of  the  men 
after  him. 


THE  VANISHING  MAN  179 

"  Come  back,"  growled  the  leader.  "  Let  him  go. 
Do  you  want  us  all  to  get  caught?  " 

As  the  farmer  ran  up  to  the  bridge,  he  saw  it  in  ruins. 
But  down  the  road  he  could  see  Elaine  and  myself,  sit 
ting  in  the  car,  staring  back  at  the  peril  which  we  had 
so  narrowly  escaped.  His  face  lighted  up  in  as  great 
joy  as  a  few  moments  before  it  had  showed  despair. 

"  What  can  that  have  been?  "  asked  Elaine,  starting 
to  get  out  of  the  car.  "  What  caused  it?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  I  returned,  taking  her  arm  firmly. 
"  But  enough  has  happened  to-day.  If  it  was  in 
tended  for  us,  we'd  better  not  stop.  Some  one  might 
take  a  shot  at  us.  Come.  We  have  the  car.  We  can 
get  out  before  any  one  does  anything  more.  Let's  do 
it.  Things  are  going  on  about  us  of  which  we  know 
nothing.  The  safest  thing  is  to  get  away." 

Elaine  looked  at  the  bridge  in  ruins  and  shuddered. 
It  was  the  closest  we  could  have  been  to  death  and 
have  escaped.  Then  she  turned  to  the  wheel  quickly 
and  the  little  car  fairly  jumped  ahead. 

"  Oh,  if  Craig  were  only  here,"  she  murmured. 
"  He  would  know  what  to  do." 

As  we  disappeared  over  the  crest  of  the  next  hill, 
safe,  the  old  farmer  and  his  dog  looked  hard  at  us. 

The  silence  after  the  explosion  was  ominous. 

He  glanced  about.  No  one  was  pursuing  him.  That 
seemed  ominous,  too.  But  if  they  did  pursue  he  was 
prepared  to  elude  them.  They  must  never  recognize 
the  old  farmer. 

As  he  turned,  he  deliberately  pulled  off  his  beard, 
then  plunged  again  into  the  woods  and  was  lost. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR 

IT  was  not  long  after  the  almost  miraculous  escape 
of  Elaine  and  myself  from  the  blowing  up  of  the 
bridge  on  the  shore  road  that  Del  Mar  returned  from 
his  mysterious  mission  which  had,  apparently,  taken 
him  actually  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

The  panel  in  the  wall  of  his  library  opened  and  in 
the  still  dripping  submarine  suit,  holding  under  his 
arm  the  weird  helmet,  Del  Mar  entered.  No  sooner 
had  he  begun  to  remove  his  wet  diving-suit  than  the 
man  who  had  signalled  with  the  heliograph  that  we 
had  found  Del  Mar's  message  from  "  below,"  what 
ever  that  might  mean,  entered  the  house  and  was  an 
nounced  by  the  valet. 

"  Let  him  come  in  immediately,"  ordered  Del  Mar, 
placing  his  suit  in  a  closet.  Then  to  the  man,  as  he 
entered,  he  said,  "  Well,  what's  new  ?  " 

"  Quite  a  bit,"  returned  the  man,,  frowning  still  over 
Elaine's  accidental  discovery  of  the  under-water  com 
munication.  "  The  Dodge  girl  happened  to  pick  up 
one  of  the  tubes  with  a  message  just  after  you  went 
down.  I  tried  to  get  her  by  blowing  up  the  bridge,  but 
it  didn't  work,  somehow." 

"  We'll  have  to  silence  her,"  remarked  Del  Mar 
1 80 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  181 

angrily  with  a  sinister  frown.  <(  You  stay  here  and 
wait  for  orders." 

A  moment  later  he  made  his  way  down  to  a  private 
dock  on  his  grounds  and  jumped  aboard  a  trim  little 
speed  boat  moored  there.  He  started  the  motor  and 
off  the  boat  feathered  in  a  cloud  of  spray. 

It  was  only  a  moment  by  water  before  he  reached 
the  Dodge  dock.  There  he  tied  his  boat  and  hurried 
up  the  dock. 

Elaine  and  I  arrived  home  without  any  further  ex 
periences  after  our  hairbreadth  escape  from  the  explo 
sion  at  the  bridge. 

We  were  in  doubt  at  first,  however,  just  what  to  do 
about  the  mysterious  message  which  we  had  picked 
up  in  the  harbor. 

"  Really,  Walter,"  remarked  Elaine,  after  we  had 
considered  the  matter  for  some  time,  "  I  think  we 
ought  to  send  that  message  to  the  government  at 
Washington." 

Already  she  had  seated  herself  at  her  desk  and  be 
gan  tc  vrite,  while  I  examined  the  metal  tube  and  the 
note  again. 

"  There,"  she  said  at  length,  handing  me  the  note 
she  had  written.  "  How  does  that  sound  ?  " 

I  read  it  while  she  addressed  the  envelope.  "  Very 
good,"  I  replied,  handing  it  back. 

She  folded  it  and  shoved  it  into  the  envelope  on 
which  she  had  written : 

Chief, 

Secret  Service, 
Washington,  D.  C. 


182  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

I  was  studying  the  address,  wondering  whether  this 
was  just  the  thing  to  do,  when  Elaine  decided  the  mat 
ter  by  energetically  ringing  the  bell  for  Jennings. 

"  Post  that,  Jennings,  please,"  she  directed. 

The  butler  bowed  just  as  the  door-bell  rang.  He 
turned  to  go. 

"  Just  a  minute,"  I  interrupted.  "  I  think  perhaps 
I'd  better  mail  it  myself,  after  all." 

He  handed  me  the  letter  and  went  out. 

"  Yes,  Walter,"  agreed  Elaine,  "  that  would  be  bet 
ter.  Register  it,  too." 

"  How  do  you  do?  "  greeted  a  suave  voice. 

It  was  Del  Mar.  As  he  passed  me  to  speak  to 
Elaine,  apparently  by  accident,  he  knocked  the  letter 
from  my  hand. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  apoligized,  quickly  stooping 
anc  picking  it  up. 

Though  he  managed  to  read  the  address,  he  main 
tained  his  composure  and  handed  the  letter  back  to 
me.  I  started  to  go  out,  when  Elaine  called  to  me. 

"Excuse  me  just  a  moment,  Mr.  Del  Mar?"  she 
queried,  accompanying  me  out  on  the  porch. 

Already  a  saddle  horse  had  been  brought  around 
for  me. 

"  Perhaps  you'd  better  put  a  special  delivery  stamp 
on  it,  too,  Walter,"  she  added,  walking  along  with  me. 
"  And  be  very  careful." 

"  I  will,"  I  promised,  as  I  rode  off. 

Del  Mar,  alone,  seized  the  opportunity  to  go  over 
quietly  to  the  telephone.  It  was  the  work  of  only  a 
moment  to  call  up  his  bungalow  where  the  emissary 
who  had  placed  the  submarine  bell  was  waiting  for 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  183 

orders.  Quickly  Del  Mar  whispered  his  instructions 
which  the  man  took,  and  hung  up  the  receiver. 

"  I  hope  you'll  pardon  me,"  said  Elaine,  entering 
just  as  Del  Mar  left  the  telephone.  "  Mr.  Jameson 
was  going  into  town  and  I  had  a  number  of  little 
things  I  wanted  him  to  do.  Won't  you  sit  down  ?  " 

They  chatted  for  a  few  moments,  but  Del  Mar  did 
not  stay  very  long.  He  excused  himself  shortly  and 
Elaine  bade  him  good-bye  at  the  door  as  he  walked 
off,  apparently,  down  the  road  I  had  taken. 

Del  Mar's  emissary  hurried  from  the  bungalow  and 
almost  ran  down  the  road  until  he  came  to  a  spot 
where  two  men  were  hiding. 

"  Jameson  is  coming  with  a  letter  which  the  Dodge 
girl  has  written  to  the  Secret  Service,"  he  cried  point 
ing  excitedly  up  the  road.  "  You've  got  to  get  it, 
see?" 

I  was  cantering  along  nicely  down  the  road  by  the 
shore,  when  suddenly,  from  behind  some  rocks  and 
bushes,  three  men  leaped  out  at  me.  One  of  them 
seized  the  horse's  bridle,  while  the  other  two  quickly 
dragged  me  out  of  the  saddle. 

It  was  very  unexpected,  but  I  had  time  enough  to 
draw  my  gun  and  fire  once.  I  hit  one  of  the  men,  too, 
in  the  arm,  and  he  staggered  back,  the  blood  spurting 
all  over  the  road. 

But  before  I  could  fire  at  the  others,  they  knocked 
the  gun  from  my  hand.  Frightened,  the  horse  turned 
and  bolted,  riderless. 

Together,  they  dragged  me  off  the  road  and  inlo 
the  thicket  where  I  was  tied  and  gagged  and  laid  on 


184  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

the  ground  while  one  of  them  bound  up  the  wounded 
arm  of  the  man  I  had  hit.  It  was  not  long  before  one 
of  them  began  searching  me. 

"  Aha !  "  he  growled,  pulling  the  letter  from  my 
pocket  and  looking  at  it  with  satisfaction.  "  Here  it 
is." 

He  tore  the  letter  open,  throwing  the  envelope  on 
the  ground,  and  read  it. 

"  There,  confound  you,"  he  muttered.  "  The  gov 
ernment  '11  never  get  that.  Come  on,  men.  Bring  him 
this  way." 

He  shoved  the  letter  into  his  pocket  and  led  the 
way  through  the  underbrush,  while  the  others  half- 
dragged,  half-pushed  me  along.  We  had  not  gone  very 
far  before  one  of  the  three  men,  who  appeared  to  be 
the  leader,  paused. 

"  Take  him  to  the  hang-out,"  he  ordered  gruffly. 
"  I'll  have  to  report  to  the  Chief." 

He  disappeared  down  toward  the  shore  of  the  har 
bor  while  the  others  prodded  me  along. 

Down  near  the  Dodge  dock,  along  the  shore,  walked 
a  man  wearing  a  broad-brimmed  hat  and  a  plain  suit 
of  duck.  His  prim  collar  and  tie  comported  well  with 
his  smoked  glasses.  Instinctively  one  would  have 
called  him  "  Professor  ",  though  whether  naturalist, 
geologist,  or  plain  "  bugologist  ",  one  would  have  had 
difficulty  in  determining. 

He  seemed,  as  a  matter-of-fact,  to  be  a  naturalist, 
for  he  was  engrossed  in  picking  up  specimens.  But  he 
was  not  so  much  engrossed  as  to  fail  to  hear  the  ap 
proach  of  footsteps  down  the  gravel  walk  from  Dodge 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  185 

Hall  to  the  dock.  He  looked  up  in  time  to  see  Del  Mar 
coming,  and  quietly  slipped  into  the  shrubbery  up  on 
the  shore. 

On  the  dock,  Del  Mar  stood  for  some  minutes,  wait 
ing.  Finally,  along  the  shore  came  another  figure.  It 
was  the  emissary  to  whom  Del  Mar  had  telephoned 
and  who  had  searched  me.  The  naturalist  drew  back 
into  his  hiding-place,  peering  out  keenly. 

"  Well  ?  "  demanded  Del  Mar.    "  What  luck  ?  " 

"  We've  got  him,"  returned  the  man  with  brief  sat 
isfaction.  "  Here's  the  letter  she  was  sending  to  the 
Secret  Service." 

Del  Mar  seized  the  note  which  the  man  handed  to 
him  and  read  it  eagerly.  "Good,"  he  exclaimed. 
"  That  would  have  put  an  end  to  the  whole  operations 
about  here.  Come  on.  Get  into  the  boat." 

For  some  reason  best  known  to  himself,  the  natural 
ist  seemed  to  have  lost  all  interest  in  his  specimens  and 
to  have  a  sudden  curiosity  about  Del  Mar's  affairs. 
As  the  motor-boat  sped  off,  he  came  slowly  and  cau 
tiously  out  of  his  hiding-place  and  gazed  fixedly  at 
Del  Mar. 

No  sooner  had  Del  Mar's  boat  got  a  little  distance 
out  into  the  harbor  than  the  naturalist  hurried  down 
the  Dodge  dock.  There  was  tied  Elaine's  own  fast 
little  runabout.  He  jumped  into  it  and  started  the 
engine,  following  quickly  in  Del  Mar's  wake. 

"  Look,"  called  the  emissary  to  Del  Mar,  spying  the 
Dodge  boat  with  the  naturalist  in  it,  skimming  rapidly 
after  them. 

Del  Mar  strained  his  eyes  back  through  his  glass  at 
the  pursuing  boat.  But  the  naturalist,  in  spite  of  his 


1 86  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

smoked  glasses,  seemed  not  to  have  impaired  his  eye 
sight  by  his  studies.  He  caught  the  glint  of  the  sun 
on  the  lens  at  Del  Mar's  eye  and  dropped  down  into 
the  bottom  of  his  own  boat  where  he  was  at  least  safe 
from  scrutiny,  if  his  boat  were  not. 

Del  Mar  lowered  his  glass.  "That's  the  Dodge 
boat,"  he  said  thoughtfully.  "  I  don't  like  the  looks  of 
that  fellow.  Give  her  more  speed." 

Del  Mar  had  not  been  gone  long  before  Elaine  de 
cided  to  take  a  ride  herself.  She  ordered  her  horse 
around  from  the  stables  while  she  donned  her  neat 
little  riding-habit.  A  few  minutes  later,  as  the  groom 
held  the  horse,  she  mounted  and  rode  away,  choosing 
the  road  by  which  I  had  gone,  expecting  to  meet  me  on 
the  return  from  town. 

She  was  galloping  along  at  a  good  clip  when  sud 
denly  her  horse  shied  at  something. 

"  Whoa,  Buster,"  pacified  Elaine. 

But  it  was  of  no  use.    Buster  still  reared  up. 

"  Why,  what  is  the  matter?  "  she  asked.  "  What  do 
you  see?  " 

She  looked  down  at  the  ground.  There  was  a  spot 
of  blood  in  the  dust.  Buster  was  one  of  those  horses 
to  whom  the  sight  of  blood  is  terrifying. 

Elaine  pulled  up  beside  the  road.  There  was  a  re 
volver  lying  in  the  grass.  She  dismounted  and  picked 
it  up.  No  sooner  had  she  looked  at  it  than  she  dis 
covered  the  initials  "W.  J."  carved  on  the  butt. 

"  Walter  Jameson !  "  she  exclaimed,  realizing  sud 
denly  that  it  was  mine.  "  It's  been  fired,  too! " 

Her  eye  fell  again  on  the  blood  spots.     "  Blood  and 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  187 

• — footprints — into  the  brush !  "  she  gasped  in  horror, 
following  the  trail.  "  What  could  have  happened  to 
Walter?" 

With  the  revolver,  Elaine  followed  where  the  bushes 
were  trampled  down  until  she  came  to  the  place  where 
I  had  been  bound.  There  she  spied  some  pieces  of 
paper  lying  on  the  ground  and  picked  them  up. 

She  put  them  together.  They  were  pieces  of  the 
envelope  of  the  letter  which  we  had  decided  to  send  to 
Washington. 

"  Which  way  did  they  take  him?  "  she  asked,  look 
ing  all  about  but  discovering  no  trail. 

She  was  plainly  at  a  loss  what  course  to  pursue. 

"What  would  Craig  do?"  she  asked  herself. 

Finding  no  answer,  she  stood  thinking  a  moment, 
slowly  tearing  the  envelope  to  pieces.  If  she  were  to 
do  anything  at  all,  it  must  be  done  quickly.  Suddenly 
an  idea  seemed  to  occur  to  her.  She  threw  the  pieces 
of  paper  into  the  air  and  let  them  blow  away.  It  was 
unscientific  detection,  perhaps,  but  the  wind  actually 
took  them  and  carried  them  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  men  had  forced  me  to  walk. 

"  That's  it !  "  cried  Elaine  to  herself.  "  I'll  follow 
that  direction." 

Meanwhile,  the  men  had  hurried  me  off  along  a  trail 
that  led  to  the  foot  of  a  cliff.  Then  the  trail  wound 
up  the  cliff.  We  climbed  it  until  we  reached  the  top. 

There  in  the  rock  was  a  rude  stairway.  I  drew  back. 
Btit  one  man  drew  a  gun  and  the  other  preceded  me 
down.  Along  the  steep  stone  steps  cut  out  in  the  face 
of  the  rock,  they  forced  me. 


i88  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Below,  in  a  rift  in  the  very  wall  of  the  cliff,  was  a 
cave  in  which  already  were  two  more  of  Del  Mar's 
men,  talking  in  low  tones,  in  the  dim  light. 

As  we  made  our  way  down  the  breakneck  stairway, 
the  foremost  of  my  captors  stepped  on  a  large  flat  rock. 
As  he  did  so,  it  gave  way  slightly  under  his  foot. 

A  light  in  the  cave  flashed  up.  Under  the  rock  wras 
a  secret  electric  connection  which  operated  a  lamp. 

"  Some  one  coming,"  muttered  the  two  men,  on 
guard  instantly. 

It  was  a  somewhat  precarious  footing  as  we  de 
scended  and  for  the  moment  I  was  more  concerned  for 
my  safety  from  a  fall  than  anything  else.  Once  my 
foot  did  slip  and  a  shower  of  pebbles  and  small  pieces 
of  rock  started  down  the  face  of  the  cliff. 

As  we  passed  down,  the  man  behind  me,  still  keep 
ing  me  covered,  raised  the  flat  stone  on  the  top  step. 
Carefully,  he  reset  the  connection  of  the  alarm  rock, 
a  series  of  metal  points  that  bent  under  the  weight  of 
a  person  and  made  a  contact  which  signalled  clown  in 
the  cavern  the  approach  of  any  one  who  did  not  know 
the  secret. 

As  he  did  so,  the  light  in  the  cavern  went  out.  "It's 
all  right,"  said  one  of  the  men  down  there,  with  a  look 
of  relief. 

We  now  went  down  the  perilous  stairway  until  we 
came  to  the  cave. 

"  I've  got  a  prisoner — orders  of  the  Chief,"  growled 
one  of  my  captors,  thrusting  me  in  roughly. 

They  forced  me  into  a  corner  where  they  tied  me 
again,  hand  and  foot.  Then  they  began  debating  in 
low,  sinister  tones,  what  was  to  be  done  with  me  next. 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  189 

Once  in  a  while  I  could  catch  a  word.  Fear  made  my 
senses  hypersensitive. 

They  were  arguing  whether  they  should  make  away 
with  me  now  or  later ! 

Finally  the  leader  rose.  "  It's  three  to  one,"  I  heard 
him  mutter.  "  He  dies  now." 

He  turned  and  took  a  menacing  step  toward  me. 

"  Hands  up !  " 

It  was  a  shrill,  firm  voice  that  rang  out  at  the  mouth 
of  the  cave  as  a  figure  cut  off  what  little  light  there  was. 

Elaine  passed  along,  hunting  for  the  trail.  Sud 
denly  a  shower  of  pebbles  came  falling  down  from  a 
cliff  above  her.  Some  of  them  hit  her  and  she  looked 
up  quickly. 

There  she  could  see  me  being  led  along  by  my  cap 
tors.  She  hid  in  the  brush  and  watched.  During  all 
the  operations  of  the  descent  of  the  rock  stairway  and 
the  resetting  of  the  alarm,  she  continued  to  watch, 
straining  her  eyes  to  see  what  they  were  doing. 

As  we  entered  the  cave,  she  stepped  out  from  her 
concealment  and  looked  sharply  up  at  us,  as  we  dis 
appeared.  Then  she  climbed  the  path  up  the  cliff  until 
she  came  to  the  flight  of  stone  steps  leading  downward 
again. 

Already  she  had  seen  the  man  behind  me  doing  some 
thing  with  the  stone  that  formed  the  top  step.  She 
stooped  down  and  examined  the  stone.  Carefully  she 
raised  it  and  looked  underneath  before  stepping  on  it. 
There  she  could  see  the  electric  connection.  She  set 
the  stone  aside  and  looked  again  down  the  dangerous 
stairway. 


190  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

It  made  her  shudder.  "  I  must  get  him,"  she  mur 
mured  to  herself.  "  Yes,  I  must.  Even  now  it  may 
be  too  late." 

With  a  supreme  effort  of  determination  she  got  her 
self  together,  drew  my  gun  which  she  had  picked  up, 
and  started  down  the  cliff,  stepping  noiselessly. 

At  last  Elaine  came  to  the  cave.  She  stood  just 
aside  from  the  door,  gun  in  hand,  and  listened,  aghast. 

Inside  she  could  hear  voices  of  four  men,  and  they 
were  arguing  whether  they  should  kill  me  or  not.  It 
was  four  against  one  woman,  but  she  did  not  falter. 

They  had  just  decided  to  make  away  with  me  im 
mediately  and  the  leader  had  turned  toward  me  with 
the  threat  still  on  his  lips.  It  was  now  or  never.  Reso 
lutely  she  took  a  step  forward  and  into  the  cave. 

"  Hands  up !  "  she  demanded,  firmly. 

The  thing  was  so  unexpected  in  the  security  of  their 
secret  hiding-place  protected  by  the  rock  alarm  that, 
before  they  knew  it,  Elaine  had  them  all  lined  up 
against  the  wall. 

Keeping  them  carefully  covered,  she  moved  over 
toward  me.  She  picked  up  a  knife  that  lay  near-by 
and  started  to  cut  the  ropes  which  held  me. 

As  she  did  so,  one  of  the  men,  with  an  oath,  leaped 
forward  to  rush  her.  But  Elaine  was  not  to  be  caught 
off  her  guard.  Instantly  she  fired.  The  man  staggered 
back,  and  fell. 

That  cooled  the  ardor  of  the  other  three  consider 
ably,  especially  now  as  I  was  free,  too.  While  she  held 
them  up  still,  with  their  hands  in  the  air,  I  went  through 
their  pockets,  taking  out  their  weapons. 

Then,  still  keeping  them  covered,  we  backed  out  of 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  191 

the  cave.  Backward  we  made  our  way  up  the  danger 
ous  flight  of  steps  again  with  guns  levelled  at  the  cave 
entrance,  Elaine  going  up  first. 

Once  a  head  stuck  itself  out  of  the  cave  entrance.  I 
fired  instantly  and  it  jerked  itself  back  in  again  just  in 
time.  That  was  the  only  trouble  we  had,  apparently. 

Cautiously  and  slowly  we  made  our  way  toward  the 
top  of  the  cliff. 

One  look  backward  from  his  motor-boat  was  enough 
for  Del  Mar.  He  must  evade  that  inquisitive  nat 
uralist.  He  turned  to  his  man. 

"  Get  out  that  apparatus,"  he  ordered. 

The  man  opened  a  locker  and  brought  out  the  curious 
submarine  rescue  helmet  and  suit.  Del  Mar  took  them 
up  and  began  to  put  the  suit  on,  stooping  down  in  the 
shelter  of  the  boat  so  that  his  actions  could  not  be  seen 
by  the  naturalist  in  the  pursuing  boat. 

The  naturalist  was  all  this  time  peering  ahead  keenly 
at  Del  Mar's  boat,  trying  to  make  it  out.  He  bent  over 
and  adjusted  the  engine  to  get  up  more  speed  and  the 
boat  shot  ahead  faster. 

By  this  time,  Del  Mar  had  put  on  the  submarine  ap 
paratus,  all  except  the  helmet,  and  was  crouching  low  in 
the  boat.  Hastily,  he  rolled  a  piece  of  canvas  into  the 
semblance  of  a  body,  put  his  coat  and  hat  on  it  and  set 
it  on  the  seat  which  he  had  occupied  before. 

Just  then  Del  Mar's  boat  ran  around  the  promontory 
where  Wu  Fang  had  met  the  submarine  that  had 
brought  Del  Mar  into  the  country  and  landed  him  so 
strangely. 

The  boat  slowed  down  under  shelter  of  the  rocks 


192  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

and  Del  Mar  added  a  pair  of  heavy  lead-soled  shoes  to 
his  outfit  in  order  to  weight  himself  down.  Finally  he 
put  on  the  helmet,  let  himself  over  the  side  of  the  boat, 
and  disappeared  into  the  water. 

His  aide  started  the  motor  and  the  boat  shot  ahead 
again,  with  the  dummy  still  occupying  Del  Mar's  seat. 
As  the  boat  swung  out  and  made  a  wide  sweeping  curve 
away  from  the  point  at  which  Del  Mar  had  gone  over 
board,  the  naturalist  in  the  Dodge  boat  came  around 
the  promontory  and  saw  it,  changing  his  course  accord 
ingly,  and  gaining  somewhat. 

Del  Mar  sank,  upright  and  rapidly,  down  in  the 
shallow  water  to  the  bottom.  Once  having  his  feet 
cm  something  approaching  firm  ground,  he  gazed  about 
tArough  the  window-like  eye  of  the  helmet  until  he 
got  his  bearings.  Then  he  began  to  walk  heavily  along 
the  bottom  of  the  harbor,  over  sand  and  rocks. 

It  was  a  strange  walk  that  he  took,  half  stumbling, 
slowly  and  cumbersomely  groping  his  way  like  a  queer 
under-water  animal. 

If  any  one  could  have  seen  him,  he  would  have  noted 
that  Del  Mar  was  going  toward  the  base  of  a  huge 
rocky  cliff  that  jutted  far  out  into  the  harbor,  where  the 
water  was  deep,  a  dangerous  point,  avoided  by  craft 
of  all  kinds.  Far  over  his  head  the  waves  beat  on  the 
rocks  angrily.  But  down  there,  concealed  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  harbor,  was  a  sort  of  huge  arch  of  stone, 
through  which  a  comparatively  rapid  current  ran  as 
the  tide  ebbed  and  flowed. 

Del  Mar  let  himself  be  carried  along  with  the  current 
which  was  now  running  in  and  thus  with  comparative 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  193 

ease  made  his  way,  still  groping,  through  the  arch. 
Once  under  it  and  a  few  feet  beyond,  he  deliberately 
kicked  off  the  leaden-soled  shoes  and,  thus  lightened, 
rose  rapidly  to  the  surface  of  the  water. 

As  he  bobbed  up,  a  strange  sight  met  his  eyes — not 
strange  however,  to  Del  Mar.  Above,  the  rocks  formed 
a  huge  dome  over  the  water  which  the  tides  forced  in 
and  out  through  the  secret  entrance  through  which  he 
came.  No  other  entrance,  apparently,  except  that 
from  the  waters  of  the  harbor  led  to  this  peculiar  den. 

Lying  quietly  moored  to  the  rocky  piers  lay  three 
submarine  boats.  Further  back,  on  a  ledge  of  rocks, 
blasted  out,  stood  a  little  building,  a  sort  of  office  or 
headquarters.  Near-by  was  a  shed  where  were  kept 
gas  and  oil,  supplies  and  ammunition,  in  fact  every 
thing  that  a  submarine  might  need. 

This  was  the  reason  for  Del  Mar's  presence  in  the 
neighborhood.  It  was  the  secret  submarine  harbor  of 
the  foreign  agents  who  were  operating  in  America ! 

Already  a  sentry,  pacing  up  and  down,  had  seen  the 
bubbles  in  the  water  that  indicated  that  some  one  had 
come  through  the  archway  and  was  down  "  below,"  as 
Del  Mar  and  his  men  called  it. 

Gazing  down  the  sentry  saw  the  queer  helmeted 
figure  float  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  pool.  He 
reached  out  and  helped  the  figure  clamber  up  out  of  the 
water  to  the  ledge  on  which  he  stood.  Del  Mar  saluted, 
and  the  sentry  returned  the  secret  salute,  helping  him 
remove  the  dripping  helmet  and  suit. 

A  moment  later,  in  the  queer  little  submarine  office, 
Del  Mar  had  evidently  planned  to  take  up  the  nefarious 
secret  work  on  which  he  was  engaged.  Several  men 

13 


T94  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

of  a  naval  and  military  bearing  were  seated  about  a 
table,  already,  studying  maps  and  plans  and  documents 
of  all  descriptions.  They  did  not  seem  to  belong  to  any 
nation  in  particular.  In  fact  their  uniforms,  if  such 
they  might  be  called,  were  of  a  character  to  disguise 
their  nationality.  But  that  they  were  hostile  to  the 
country  under  which  they  literally  had  their  hidden 
retreat,  of  that  there  could  be  no  doubt. 

How  high  Del  Mar  stood  in  their  counsels  could  have 
been  seen  at  a  glance  from  the  instant  deference  ex 
hibited  at  the  mere  mention  of  his  name  by  the  sentry 
who  entered  with  the  submarine  suit  while  Del  Mar 
got  himself  together  after  his  remarkable  trip. 

The  men  at  the  council  table  rose  and  saluted  as  Del 
Mar  himself  entered.  He  returned  the  salute  and 
quietly  made  his  way  to  the  head  of  the  table  where  he 
took  a  seat,  naturally. 

"  This  is  the  area  in  which  we  must  work  first  of 
all,"  he  began,  drawing  toward  him  a  book  and  opening 
it.  "  And  we  must  strike  quickly,  for  if  they  heed  the 
advice  in  this  book,  it  may  be  too  late  for  us  to  take 
advantage  of  their  foolish  unpreparedness." 

It  was  a  book  entitled  "  Defenseless  America ", 
written  by  a  great  American  inventor,  Hudson  Maxim. 

Del  Mar  turned  the  pages  until  he  came  to  and 
pointed  out  a  map.  The  others  gathered  about  him, 
leaning  forward  eagerly  as  he  talked  to  them. 

There,  on  the  map,  with  a  radius  of  some  one  hun 
dred  and  seventy  miles,  was  drawn  a  big  segment  of  a 
circle,  with  Peekskill,  New  York,  as  a  centre. 

"  That  is  the  heart  of  America,"  said  Del  Mar, 
earnestly.  "  It  embraces  New  York,  Boston,  Phila- 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  195 

delphia.  But  that  is  not  the  point.  Here  are  the  great 
majority  of  the  gun  and  armor  factories,  the  powder 
and  cartridge  works,  together  with  the  principal  coal 
fields  of  Pennsylvania." 

He  brought  his  fist  down  decisively  on  the  table. 
"If  we  hold  this  section,"  he  declared,  "  we  practically 
hold  America ! " 

Eagerly  the  other  emissaries  listened  as  Del  Mar 
laid  before  them  the  detailed  facts  which  he  was  collect 
ing,  the  greater  mission  than  the  mere  capture  of 
Kennedy's  wireless  torpedo  which  had  brought  him 
into  the  country.  Detail  after  detail  of  their  plans  they 
discussed  as  they  worked  out  the  gigantic  scheme. 

It  was  a  war  council  of  a  secret  advance  guard  of 
the  enemies  of  America! 

Meanwhile,  Del  Mar's  man  in  his  boat,  cutting  a 
wide  circle  and  avoiding  the  Dodge  boat  carrying  the 
naturalist,  made  his  way  across  the  harbor  until  he 
came  to  the  shore. 

There  he  landed  and  proceeded  up  the  beach  to  the 
foot  of  a  rocky  cliff,  where  he  turned  and  followed  a 
trail  up  it  to  the  top.  It  was  the  same  path  already 
travelled  by  my  captors  with  me  and  later  followed  by 
Elaine. 

As  he  came  stealthily  out  from  under  cover,  Del 
Mar's  man  gazed  down  the  stairway.  He  drew  back 
at  what  he  saw.  Slowly  he  pulled  a  gun  from  his 
pocket,  watching  down  the  steps  with  tense  interest. 
There  he  could  see  Elaine  and  myself  wearily  climbing 
toward  the  top,  our  backs  toward  him.  as  we  covered 
the  men  in  the  cave. 


196  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

So  surprised  was  he  at  what  he  saw  that  he  forgot 
that  his  boat  below  had  been  followed  by  the  mysteri 
ous  naturalist,  who,  the  moment  Del  Mar's  man  had 
landed,  put  on  the  last  burst  of  speed  and  ran  the  Dodge 
boat  close  to  the  spot  where  the  aide  had  left  Del  Mar's. 

A  glance  into  the  boat  sufficed  to  tell  the  naturalist 
that  the  figure  in  it  was  only  a  dummy.  He  did  not 
pause,  but  followed  the  trail  up  the  hill,  until  he  was 
close  after  the  emissary  ahead,  going  more  slowly. 

Only  a  few  feet  further  along  the  cliff,  the  naturalist 
paused,  too,  keeping  well  under  cover,  for  the  man 
was  now  just  ahead  of  him.  He  looked  fixedly  at  him 
and  saw  him  gaze  down  the  cliff.  Then  he  saw  him 
slowly  draw  a  gun. 

Who  could  be  below  ?  Quickly  the  naturalist's  mind 
seemed  to  work.  He  crouched  down,  as  if  ready  to 
spring. 

The  emissary  slowly  raised  his  revolver  and  took 
careful  aim  at  the  backs  of  Elaine  and  myself,  as  we 
came  up  the  steps. 

But  before  he  could  pull  the  trigger,  the  naturalist, 
more  like  one  of  the  wild  animals  which  he  studied  than 
like  a  human  being,  sprang  from  his  concealment  in 
the  bushes  and  pounced  on  the  man  from  behind,  seiz 
ing  him  firmly. 

Over  and  over  they  rolled,  struggling  almost  to  the 
brink  of  the  precipice. 


Elaine  and  I  had  got  almost  to  the  top  of  the  flight 
of  steps,  when  suddendy  we  heard  a  shout  above  us  and 
sounds  of  a  terrific  struggle.  We  turned,  to  see  two 


THE  SUBMARINE  HARBOR  197 

men,  neither  of  whom  we  knew,  fighting.  One  seemed 
to  be  a  professor  of  natural  history  from  his  dress  and 
general  appearance.  The  other  had  a  sinister  nonde 
script  look. 

Nearer  and  nearer  the  edge  of  the  cliff  they  rolled. 
We  crouched  closer  to  the  rocky  wall,  gazing  up  at  the 
death  grapple  of  the  two.  Who  they  were  we  did  not 
know  but  that  one  was  fighting  for  and  the  other 
against  us  we  could  readily  see. 

The  more  vicious  of  the  twTo  seemed  to  be  forcing 
the  naturalist  slowly  back,  when,  with  a  superhuman 
effort,  the  naturalist  braced  himself.  His  foot  was 
actually  on  a  small  ledge  of  rock  directly  at  the  edge  of 
the  cliff. 

He  swung  around  quickly  and  struck  the  other  man. 
The  vicious  looking  man  pitched  headlong  over  the 
cliff. 

We  shrank  back  closer  to  the  rock  as  the  man  hurtled 
through  the  air  only  a  few  feet  from  us.  Down  below, 
we  could  hear  him  land  with  a  sickening  thud. 

Far  over  the  edge  Elaine  leaned  in  a  sort  of  fascina-- 
tion  at  the  awful  sight.  For  a  moment,  I  thought  the, 
very  imp  of  the  perverse  had  got  possession  of  her  and 
that  she  herself  would  fall  over.  She  brushed  her  hand 
unsteadily  over  her  eyes  and  staggered.  I  caught  her 
just  in  time. 

It  was  only  an  instant  before  the  brave  girl  recovered 
control  of  herself.  Then,  together,  we  started  again  to 
climb  up. 

As  we  did  so  the  naturalist  looked  down  and  caught 
sight  of  us  approaching.  Hastily  he  hid  in  the  bushes. 

We  reached  the  top  of  the  stairway  and  gazed  about 


198  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

for  the  victor  in  the  contest.  To  our  surprise  he  was 
gone. 

"Come,"  I  urged.  "We  had 'better  get  away, 
quickly." 

As  Elaine  and  I  disappeared,  the  naturalist  slowly 
emerged  again  from  the  bushes  and  looked  after  us. 
Then  he  gave  a  hasty  glance  over  the  edge  of  the  cliff 
at  the  man,  twisted  and  motionless,  far  below. 

If  we  had  looked  back  we  might  have  seen  the 
naturalist  shake  his  head  in  a  manner  strangely  re 
miniscent  as  he  turned  and  gazed  again  after  us* 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  CONSPIRATORS 

"  You  remember  Lieutenant  Woodward,  the  inven 
tor  of  trodite?"  I  asked  Elaine  one  day  after  I  had 
been  out  for  a  ride  through  the  country. 

"  Very  well  indeed,"  she  nodded  with  a  look  of  wist- 
fulness  as  the  mention  of  his  name  recalled  Kennedy, 
"Why?" 

"  He's  stationed  at  Fort  Dale,  not  very  far  from 
here,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Sound,"  I  answered. 

"  Then  let's  have  him  over  at  my  garden  party  to 
night,"  she  exclaimed,  sitting  down  and  writing. 

DEAR  LIEUTENANT, 

I  have  just  learned  that  you  are  stationed  at  Fort 
Dale  and  would  like  to  have  you  meet  some  of  my 
friends  at  a  little  garden  party  I  am  holding  to 
night. 

Sincerely, 

ELAINE  DODGE. 

Thus  it  was  that  a  few  hours  afterward,  in  the 
officers'  quarters  at  the  Fort,  an  orderly  entered  with 
the  mail  and  handed  a  letter  to  Lieutenant  Woodward. 

199 


200  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

He  opened  it  and  read  the  invitation  with  pleasure.  He 
had  scarcely  finished  reading  and  was  hastening  to 
write  a  reply  when  the  orderly  entered  again  and 
saluted. 

"  A  Professor  Arnold  to  see  you,  Lieutenant,"  he 
announced. 

"Professor  Arnold?"  repeated  Woodward.  "I 
don't  know  any  Professor  Arnold.  Well,  show  him  in, 
anyhow." 

The  orderly  ushered  in  a  well-dressed  man  with  a 
dark,  heavy  beard  and  large  horn  spectacles.  Wood 
ward  eyed  him  curiously  and  a  bit  suspiciously,  as  the 
stranger  seated  himself  and  made  a  few  remarks. 

The  moment  the  orderly  left  the  room,  however, 
the  professor  lowered  his  voice  to  a  whisper.  Wood 
ward  listened  in  amazement,  looked  at  him  more 
closely,  then  laughed  and  shook  hands  cordially. 

The  professor  leaned  over  again.  Whatever  it  was 
that  he  said,  it  made  a  great  impression  on  the  Lieu 
tenant. 

"You  know  this  fellow  Del  Mar?"  asked  Profes 
sor  Arnold  finally. 

"  No,"  replied  Woodward. 

"  Well,  he's  hanging  around  Miss  Dodge  all  the 
time,"  went  on  Arnold.  "  There's  something  queer 
about  his  presence  here  at  this  time." 

"  I've  an  invitation  to  a  garden  party  at  her  house 
to-night,"  remarked  Woodward. 

"  Accept,"  urged  the  professor,  "  and  tell  her  you 
are  bringing  a  friend." 

Woodward  resumed  writing  and  when  he  had 
finished  handed  the  note  to  the  stranger,  who  read : 


THE  CONSPIRATORS  201 

DEAR  Miss  DODGE, 

I  shall  be  charmed  to  be  with  you  to-night  and  with 
your  permission  will  bring  my  friend,  Professor 
Arnold. 

Truly  yours, 

EDWARD  WOODWARD. 

"  Good,"  nodded  the  professor,  handing  the  note 
back. 

Woodward  summoned  an  orderly.  "  See  that  that 
is  delivered  at  Dodge  Hall  to  Miss  Dodge  herself  as 
soon  as  possible,"  he  directed,  as  the  orderly  took  the 
note  and  saluted. 

Elaine,  Aunt  Josephine  and  I  were  in  the  garden 
when  Lieut.  Woodward's  orderly  rode  up  and  delivered 
the  letter. 

Elaine  opened  it  and  read.  "  That's  all  right,"  she 
thanked  the  orderly.  "  Oh,  Walter,  he's  coming  to 
the  garden  party,  and  is  going  to  bring  a  friend  of 
his,  a  Professor  Arnold." 

We  chatted  a  few  moments  about  the  party. 

"  Oh,"  exclaimed  Elaine  suddenly,  "  I  have  an  idea." 

"  What  is  it?  "  we  asked,  smiling  at  her  enthusiasm. 

"We'll  have  a  fortune  teller,"  she  cried.  "Aunt 
Josephine,  you  shall  play  the  part." 

"  All  right,  if  you  really  want  me,"  consented  Aunt 
Josephine  smiling  indulgently  as  we  urged  her. 

Down  in  the  submarine  harbor  that  afternoon,  Del 
Mar  and  his  men  were  seated  about  the  conference 
table. 

"  I've  traced  out  the  course  and  the  landing  points 


202  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINB 

of  the  great  Atlantic  cable,"  he  said.  "  We  must  cut 
it." 

Del  Mar  turned  to  one  of  the  men.  "Take  these 
plans  to  the  captain  of  the  steamer  and  tell  him  to 
get  ready,"  he  went  on.  "  Find  out  and  send  me  word 
when  the  cutting  can  be  done  best." 

The  man  saluted  and  went  out. 

Leaving  the  submarine  harbor  in  the  usual  manner, 
he  made  his  way  to  a  dock  on  the  shore  around  the 
promontory  and  near  the  village.  Tied  to  it  was  a 
small  tramp  steamer.  The  man  walked  down  the  dock 
and  climbed  aboard  the  boat.  There  several  rough 
looking  sailors  were  lolling  and  standing  about.  The 
emissary  selected  the  captain,  a  more  than  ordinarily 
tough  looking  individual. 

"  Mr.  Del  Mar  sends  you  the  location  of  the  At 
lantic  cable  and  the  place  where  he  thinks  it  best  to 
pick  it  up  and  cut  it,"  he  said. 

The  captain  nodded.  "  I  understand,"  he  replied. 
"  I'll  send  him  word  later  when  it  can  be  done  best." 

A  few  minutes  after  dispatching  his  messenger, 
Del  Mar  left  the  submarine  harbor  himself  and  en 
tered  his  bungalow  by  way  of  the  secret  entrance. 
There  he  went  immediately  to  his  desk  and  picked  up 
the  mail  that  had  accumulated  in  his  absence.  One 
letter  he  read: 

DEAR  MR.  DEL  MAR, 

We  shall  be  pleased  to  see  you  at  a  little  garden 
party  we  are  holding  to-night. 

Sincerely, 

ELAINB  DODGE. 


THE  CONSPIRATORS  203 

As  he  finished  reading,  he  pushed  the  letter  care 
lessly  aside  as  though  he  had  no  time  for  such  frivolity. 
Then  an  idea  seemed  to  occur  to  him.  He  picked  it  up 
again  and  read  it  over. 

"  I'll  go,"  he  said  to  himself,  simply. 

That  night  Dodge  Hall  was  a  blaze  of  lights  and  life, 
overflowing  to  the  wide  verandas  and  the  garden. 
Guests  in  evening  clothes  were  arriving  from  all  parts 
of  the  summer  colony  and  were  being  received  by 
Elaine.  Already  some  of  them  were  dancing  on  the 
veranda. 

Among  the  late  arrivals  were  Woodward  and  his 
friend,  Professor  Arnold. 

"  I'm  so  glad  to  know  that  you  are  stationed  at  Fort 
Dale,"  greeted  Elaine.  "  I  hope  it  will  be  for  all 
summer." 

"  I  can't  say  how  long  it  will  be,  but  I  shall  make 
every  effort  to  make  it  all  summer,"  he  replied  gal 
lantly.  "  Let  me  present  my  friend,  Professor 
Arnold." 

The  professor  bowed  low  and  unprofessorially 
over  Elaine's  hand  and  a  moment  later  followed 
Woodward  out  into  the  next  room  as  the  other  guests 
arrived  to  be  greeted  by  Elaine.  For  a  moment,  how 
ever,  she  looked  after  him  curiously.  Once  she  started 
to  follow  as  though  to  speak  to  him.  Just  then,  how 
ever,  Del  Mar  entered. 

"  Good  evening,"  he  interrupted,  suavely. 

He  stood  for  a  moment  with  Elaine  and  talked. 

One  doorway  in  the  house  was  draped  and  a  tent 
had  been  erected  in  the  room.  Over  the  door  was  a 


204  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

sign  which  read :  "  The  past  and  the  future  are  an 
open  book  to  Ancient  Anna."  There  Aunt  Josephine 
held  forth  in  a  most  effective  disguise  as  a  fortune 
teller. 

Aunt  Josephine  had  always  had  a  curious  desire  to 
play  the  old  hag  in  amateur  dramatics  and  now  she 
had  gratified  her  desire  to  the  utmost.  Probably  none 
of  the  guests  knew  that  Ancient  Anna  was  in  reality 
Elaine's  guardian. 

Elaine  being  otherwise  occupied,  I  had  selected  one 
of  the  prettiest  of  the  girls  and  we  were  strolling 
through  the  house,  seeking  a  quiet  spot  for  a  chat. 

"  Why  don't  you  have  your  fortune  told  by  An 
cient  Anna?  "  laughed  my  companion  as  we  approached 
the  tent. 

"Do  you  tell  a  good  fortune  reasonably?  "  I  joked, 
entering. 

"  Only  the  true  fortunes,  young  man,"  returned 
Ancient  Anna  severely,  starting  in  to  read  my  palm. 
"  You  are  very  much  in  love,"  she  went  on,  "  but  the 
lady  is  not  in  this  tent." 

Very  much  embarrassed,  I  pulled  mv  hand  away. 

"  How  shocking !  "  mocked  my  companion,  making 
believe  to  be  very  much  annoyed.  "  I  don't  think  I'll 
have  my  fortune  told,"  she  decided  as  we  left  the 
room. 

We  sauntered  along  to  the  veranda  where  another 
friend  claimed  my  companion  for  a  dance  which  she 
had  promised.  As  I  strolled  on  alone,  Del  Mar  and 
Elaine  wrere  already  finishing  a  dance.  He  left  her  a 
moment  later  and  I  hurried  over,  glad  of  the  oppor 
tunity  to  see  her  at  last. 


THE  CONSPIRATORS  205 

Del  Mar  made  his  way  alone  among  the  guests  and 
passed  Aunt  Josephine  disguised  as  the  old  hag  seated 
before  her  tent.  Just  then  a  waiter  came  through 
with  a  tray  of  ices.  As  he  passed,  Del  Mar  stopped 
him,  reached  out  and  took  an  ice. 

Under  the  ice,  as  he  had  known,  was  a  note.  He 
took  the  note  surreptitiously,  turned  and  presented  the 
ice  to  Ancient  Anna  with  a  bow. 

"  Thank  you,  kind  sir,"  she  curtsied,  taking  it. 

Del  Mar  stepped  aside  and  glanced  at  the  little  slip 
of  paper.  Then  he  crumpled  it  up  and  threw  it  aside, 
walking  away. 

No  sooner  had  he  gone  than  Aunt  Josephine  reached 
out  and  picked  up  the  paper.  She  straightened  it  and 
looked  at  it.  There  was  nothing  on  the  paper  but  a 
crude  drawing  of  a  sunrise  on  the  ocean. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  asked  Aunt  Josephine,  in  surprise. 

Just  then  Elaine  and  Lieutenant  Woodward  came  in 
and  stopped  before  the  tent.  Aunt  Josephine  motioned 
to  Elaine  to  come  in  and  Elaine  followed.  Lieuten 
ant  Woodward  started  after  her. 

"  No,  no,  young  man,"  laughed  Ancient  Anna, 
shaking  her  forefinger  at  him,  "  I  don't  want  you. 
It's  the  pretty  young  lady  I  want." 

Woodward  stood  outside,  though  he  did  not  know 
quite  what  it  was  all  about.  While  he  was  standing 
there,  Professor  Arnold  came  up.  He  had  not  exactly 
made  a  hit  with  the  guests.  At  least,  he  seemed  to 
make  little  effort  to  do  so.  He  and  Woodward  walked 
away,  talking  earnestly. 

In  the  tent  Aunt  Josephine  handed  Elaine  the  piece 
of  paper  she  had  picked  up. 


206  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"What  does  it  mean?"  asked  Elaine,  studying  the 
curious  drawing  in  surprise. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  confessed  Aunt  Joseph 
ine. 

"  Nor  I." 

Meanwhile  Lieutenant  Woodward  and  his  friend 
had  moved  to  a  corner  of  the  veranda  and  stood  look 
ing  intently  into  the  moonlight.  There  was  Del  Mar 
deep  in  conversation  with  a  man  who  had  slipped 
out,  at  a  quiet  signal,  from  his  hiding-place  in  the 
shrubbery. 

"  That  fellow  is  up  to  something,  mark  my  words," 
muttered  Arnold  under  his  breath.  "  I'd  like  to  make 
an  arrest,  but  I've  got  to  have  some  proof." 

They  continued  watching  Del  Mar  but,  so  far  at 
least,  he  did  nothing  that  would  have  furnished  them 
any  evidence  of  anything. 

So  the  party  went  on,  most  merrily  until,  long  after 
the  guests  had  left,  Elaine  sat  in  her  dressing-gown 
up  in  her  room,  about  to  retire. 

Her  maid  had  left  her  and  she  picked  up  the  slip 
of  paper  from  her  dresser,  looking  at  it  thoughtfully. 

"  What  can  a  crude  drawing  of  a  sunrise  on  the 
sea  mean?"  she  asked  herself. 

For  a  long  time  she  studied  the  paper,  thinking  it 
over.  At  last  an  idea  came  to  her. 

"  I'll  bet  I  have  it,"  she  exclaimed  to  herself. 
"  Something  is  going  to  happen  on  the  water  at  sun 
rise." 

She  took  a  pretty  little  alarm  clock  from  the  tabl«, 
set  it,  and  placed  it  near  her  bed. 


THE  CONSPIRATORS  207 

Returning  from  the  party  to  his  library,  Del  Mar 
entered.  Except  for  the  moonlight  streaming  in 
through  the  windows  the  room  was  dark.  He  turned 
on  the  lights  and  crossed  to  the  panel  in  the  wall.  As 
he  touched  a  button  the  panel  opened.  Del  Mar 
switched  off  the  lights  and  went  through  the  panel, 
closing  it. 

Outside,  at  the  other  end  of  the  passageway,  was 
one  of  his  men,  waiting  in  the  shadows  as  Del  Mar 
came  up.  For  a  moment  they  talked.  "  I'll  be  there, 
at  sunrise,"  agreed  Del  Mar,  as  the  man  left  and  he 
reentered  the  secret  passage. 

While  he  was  conferring,  at  the  library  window 
appeared  a  face.  It  was  Professor  Arnold's.  Cau 
tiously  he  opened  the  window  and  listened.  Then  he 
entered. 

First  he  went  over  to  the  door  and  set  a  chair  under 
the  knob.  Next  he  drew  an  electric  pocket  bull's-eye 
and  flashed  it  about  the  room.  He  glanced  about  and 
finally  went  over  to  Del  Mar's  desk  where  he  examined 
a  batch  of  letters,  his  back  to  the  secret  panel. 

Arnold  was  running  rapidly  through  the  papers  on 
the  desk,  as  he  flashed  his  electric  bull's-eye  on  them, 
when  the  panel  in  the  wall  opened  slowly  and  Del  Mar 
stepped  into  the  room  noiselessly.  To  his  surprise  he 
saw  a  round  spot  of  light  from  an  electric  flashlight 
f  ocussed  on  his  desk.  Some  one  was  there !  He  drew 
a  gun. 

Arnold  started  suddenly.  He  heard  the  cocking  of 
a  revolver.  But  he  did  not  look  around.  He  merely 
thought  an  instant,  quicker  than  lightning,  then  pulled 
out  a  spool  of  black  thread  with  one  hand,  while  with 


208  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

the  other  he  switched  off  the  light,  and  dived  down  on 
his  stomach  on  the  floor  in  the  shadow. 

"Who's  that?"  demanded  Del  Mar.  "Confound 
it!  I  should  have  fired  at  sight." 

The  room  was  so  dark  now  that  it  was  impossible  to 
see  Arnold.  Del  Mar  gazed  intently.  Suddenly 
Arnold's  electric  torch  glowed  forth  in  a  spot  across 
the  room. 

Del  Mar  blazed  at  it,  firing  every  chamber  of  his- 
revolver,  then  switched  on  the  lights. 

No  one  was  in  the  room.-  But  the  door  was  open. 
Del  Mar  gazed  about,  vexed,  then  ran  to  the  open  door. 

For  a  second  or  two  he  peered  out  in  rage,  finally 
turning  back  into  the  empty  room.  On  the  mantle- 
piece  lay  the  torch  of  the  intruder.  It  was  one  in  which 
the  connection  is  made  by  a  ring  falling  on  a  piece  of 
metal.  The  ring  had  been  left  up  by  Arnold.  Con 
nection  had  been  made  as  he  was  leaving  the  room  by 
pulling  the  thread  which  he  had  fastened  to  the  ring. 
Del  Mar  followed  the  thread  as  it  led  around  the  room 
to  the  doorway. 

"  Curse  him !  "  swore  Del  Mar,  smashing  down  the 
innocent  torch  on  the  floor  in  fury,  as  he  rushed  to 
the  desk  and  saw  his  papers  all  disturbed. 

Outside,  Arnold  had  made  good  his  escape.  He 
paused  in  the  moonlight  and  listened.  No  one  was 
pursuing.  He  drew  out  two  or  three  of  the  letters 
which  he  had  taken  from  Del  Mar's  desk,  and  hastily 
ran  through  them. 

"  Not  a  thing  in  them,"  he  exclaimed,  tearing  them 
up  in  disgust  and  hurrying  away. 


THE  CONSPIRATORS  209 

At  the  first  break  of  dawn  the  little  alarm  clock 
awakened  Elaine.  She  started  up  and  rubbed  her  eyes 
at  the  suddenness  of  the  awakening,  then  quickly 
reached  out  and  stopped  the  bell  so  that  it  would  not 
disturb  others  in  the  house.  She  jumped  out  of  bed 
hurriedly  and  dressed. 

Armed  with  a  spy  glass,  Elaine  let  herself  out  of 
the  house  quietly.  Directly  to  the  shore  she  went, 
walking  along  the  beach.  Suddenly  she  paused. 
There  were  three  men.  Before  she  could  level  her 
glass  at  them,  however,  they  disappeared. 

"  That's  strange,"  she  said  to  herself,  looking 
through  the  glass.  '  There's  a  steamer  at  the  dock 
that  seems  to  be  getting  ready  for  something.  I 
wonder  what  it  can  be  doing  so  early." 

She  moved  along  in  the  direction  of  the  dock.  At 
the  dock  the  disreputable  steamer  to  which  Del  Mar 
had  dispatched  his  emissary  was  still  tied,  the  sailors 
now  working  under  the  gruff  orders  of  the  rough 
captain.  About  a  capstan  were  wound  the  turns  of  a 
long  wire  rope  at  the  end  of  which  was  a  three- 
pronged  drag-hook. 

"  You  see,"  the  captain  was  explaining,  "  we'll  lower 
this  hook  and  drag  it  along  the  bottom.  When  it 
catches  anything  we'll  just  pull  it  up.  I  have  the  loca 
tion  of  the  cable.  It  ought  to  be  easy,  to  grapple." 

Already,  on  the  shore,  at  an  old  deserted  shack  of  a 
fisherman,  two  of  Del  Mar's  men  had  been  waiting 
since  before  sun-up,  having  come  in  a  dirty,  dingy 
fishing  smack  anchored  offshore. 

"  Is  everything  ready  ?  "  asked  Del  Mar,  coming 
up. 

14 


210  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  Everything,  sir,"  returned  the  two,  following  him 
along  the  shore. 

"Who's  that?"  cautioned  one  of  the  men,  looking 
ahead. 

They  hid  hastily,  for  there  was  Elaine.  She  had 
seen  the  three  and  was  about  to  level  her  glass  in  their 
direction  as  they  hid.  Finally  she  turned  and  dis 
covered  the  steamer.  As  she  moved  toward  it,  Del 
Mar  and  the  others  came  out  from  behind  a  rock  and 
stole  after  her. 

Elaine  wandered  on  until  she  came  to  the  dock.  No 
one  paid  any  attention  to  her,  apparently,  and  she  made 
her  way  along  the  dock  and  even  aboard  the  boat  with 
out  being  observed. 

No  sooner  had  she  got  on  the  boat,  however,  than 
Del  Mar  and  his  men  appeared  on  the  dock  and  also 
boarded  the  steamer. 

The  captain  was  still  explaining  to  the  men  just 
how  the  drag-hook  worked  when  Elaine  came  up 
quietly  on  the  deck.  She  stood  spellbound  as  she 
heard  him  outline  the  details  of  the  plot.  Scarcely 
knowing  what  she  did,  she  crouched  back  of  a  deck 
house  and  listened. 

Behind  her,  Del  Mar  and  his  men  came  along,  cat 
like.  A  glance  was  sufficient  to  tell  them  that  she  had 
overheard  what  the  captain  was  saying. 

"  Confound  that  girl !  "  ground  out  Del  Mar. 
"  Will  she  always  cross  my  path  ?  We'll  get  her  this 
time!" 

The  men  scattered  as  he  directed  them.  Sneaking  up 
quietly,  they  made  a  sudden  rush  and  seized  her.  As 
she  struggled  and  screamed,  they  dragged  her  off, 


THE  CONSPIRATORS  211 

thrusting  her  into  the  captain's  cabin  and  locking  the 
door. 

"  Cast  off!  "  ordered  Del  Mar. 

A  few  moments  later,  out  in  the  harbor,  Del  Mar 
was  busy  directing  the  dragging  for  the  Atlantic  cable 
at  a  spot  where  it  was  known  to  run.  They  let  the 
drag-hook  down  over  the  side  and  pulled  it  along 
slowly  on  the  bottom. 

In  the  cabin,  Elaine  beat  on  the  door  and  shouted  in 
vain  for  help. 

I  had  decided  to  do  some  early  morning  fishing  the 
day  after  the  party,  and  knowing  that  Elaine  and  the 
others  were  usually  late  risers,  I  said  nothing  about  it, 
determined  to  try  my  luck  alone. 

So  it  happened  that  only  a  few  minutes  after  Elaine 
let  herself  out  quitely,  I  did  the  same,  carrying  my 
fishing-tackle.  I  made  my  way  toward  the  shore,  un 
decided  whether  to  fish  from  a  dock  or  boat.  Finally 
I  determined  to  do  some  casting  from  the  shore. 

I  had  cast  once  or  twice  before  I  was  aware  that  I 
was  not  alone  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  Some 
distance  away  I  saw  a  little  steamer  at  a  wharf.  A 
couple  of  men  ran  along  the  deck,  apparently  caution 
ing  the  captain  against  something. 

Then  I  saw  them  run  to  one  side  and  drag  out  a  girl, 
screaming  and  struggling  as  they  hurried  her  below. 
I  could  scarcely  believe  my  eyes.  It  was  Elaine! 

Only  a  second  I  looked.  They  were  certainly  too 
many  for  me.  I  dropped  my  rod  and  line  and  ran,  to 
ward  the  dock,  however.  As  I  came  down  it,  I  saw 
that  I  was  too  late.  The  little  steamer  had  cast  off  and 


212  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

was  now  some  distance  from  the  dock.  I  looked  about 
for  a  motor-boat  in  desperation — anything  to  follow 
them  in.  But  there  was  nothing,  absolutely  nothing, 
not  even  a  rowboat. 

I  ran  back  along  the  dock  as  I  had  come  and  struck 
out  down  the  shore. 

Out  at  the  parade  grounds  at  Fort  Dale,  in  spite  of 
the  early  hour,  there  was  some  activity,  for  the  army 
is  composed  of  early  risers. 

Lieutenent  Woodward  and  Professor  Arnold  left 
the  house  in  which  the  Lieutenant  was  quartered, 
where  he  had  invited  Arnold  to  spend  the  night.  Al 
ready  an  orderly  had  brought  around  two  horses. 
They  mounted  for  an  early  morning  ride  through  the 
country. 

Off  they  clattered,  naturally  bending  their  course 
toward  the  shore.  They  came  soon  to  a  point  in  the 
road  where  it  emerged  from  the  hills  and  gave  them  a 
panoramic  view  of  the  harbor  and  sound. 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  called  the  professor. 

Woodward  reined  up  and  they  gazed  off  over  the 
water. 

"  What's  that — an  oyster  boat  ?  "  asked  Woodward, 
looking  in  the  direction  Arnold  indicated. 

"  I  don't  think  so,  so  early,"  replied  Arnold,  pulling 
out  his  pocket  glass  and  looking  carefully. 

Through  it  he  could  see  that  something  like  a  hook 
was  being  cast  over  the  steamer's  side  and  drawn  back 
again. 

"  They're  dragging  for  something,"  he  remarked 
as  they  brought  up  an  object  dark  and  covered  with 


THE  CONSPIRATORS 


213 


seagrowth,  then  threw  it  overboard  as  though  it  was 
not  what  they  wanted.  "  By  George — the  Atlantic 
cable  lands  here — they're  going  to  cut  it !  " 

Woodward  took  the  glasses  himself  and  looked  in 
in  surprise.  "  That's  right,"  he  cried,  his  surprise 
changed  to  alarm  in  an  instant.  "  Here,  take  the  glass 
again  and  watch.  I  must  get  back  to  the  Fort." 

He  swung  his  horse  about  and  galloped  off,  leaving 
Arnold  sitting  in  the  saddle  gazing  at  the  strange  boat 
through  his  glass. 

By  the  time  Woodward  reached  the  parade  ground 
again,  a  field-gun  and  its  company  were  at  drill.  He 
dashed  furiously  across  the  field. 

"What's  the  trouble?"  demanded  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  gun. 

Woodward  blurted  out  what  he  had  just  seen. 
"  We  must  stop  it — at  any  cost,"  he  added,  breath 
lessly. 

The  officer  turned  to  the  company.  A  moment  later 
the  order  to  follow  Woodward  rang  out,  the  horses 
were  wheeled  about,  and  off  the  party  galloped.  On 
they  went,  along  the  road  which  Woodward  and  Ar 
nold  had  already  traversed. 

Arnold  was  still  gazing,  impatiently  now,  through 
the  glass.  He  could  see  the  fore-deck  of  the  ship 
where  Del  Mar,  muffled  up,  and  his  men  had  succeeded 
in  dragging  the  cable  to  the  proper  position  on  the 
deck.  They  laid  it  down  and  Del  Mar  was  directing 
the  preparations  for  cutting  it.  Arnold  lowered  his 
glass  and  looked  about  helplessly. 

Just  then  Lieutenant  Woodward  dashed  up  with  the 
officer  and  company  and  the  field-gun.  Thev  wheeled 


214  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

it  about  and  began  pointing  it  and  finding  the  range. 

Would  they  never  get  it?  Arnold  was  almost  be 
side  himself.  One  of  Del  Mar's  men  seized  an  axe 
and  was  about  to  deliver  the  fatal  blow.  He  swung  it 
and  for  a  moment  held  it  poised  over  his  head. 

Suddenly  a  low,  deep  rumble  of  a  reverberation 
echoed  and  reechoed  from  the  hills  over  the  water. 
The  field-gun  had  bellowed  defiance. 

A  solid  shot  crashed  through  the  cabin,  smashing 
the  door.  Astounded,  the  men  jumped  back.  As  they 
did  so,  in  their  fear,  the  cable,  released,  slipped  back 
over  the  rail  in  a  great  splash  of  safety  into  the  water 
and  sank. 

"  The  deuce  take  you — you  fools,"  swore  Del  Mar, 
springing  forward  in  rage,  and  looking  furiously  to 
ward  the  shore. 

Two  of  the  men  had  been  hit  by  splinters.  It  was 
impossible  to  drag  again.  Besides,  again  the  gun  crew 
loaded  and  fired. 

The  first  shot  had  dismantled  the  doorway  of  the 
cabin.  Elaine  crouched  fearfully  in  the  furthest 
corner,  not  knowing  what  to  expect  next.  Suddenly 
another  shot  tore  through  just  beside  the  door,  smash 
ing  the  woodwork  terrifically.  She  shrank  back 
further,  in  fright. 

Anything  was  better  than  this  hidden  terror. 
Nerved  up,  she  ran  through  the  broken  door. 

Arnold  was  gazing  through  his  glass  at  the  effect 
of  the  shots.  He  could  now  see  Del  Mar  and  the 
others  leaping  into  a  swift  little  motor-boat  alongside 
the  steamer  which  they  had  been  using  to  help  them  in 
dragging  for  the  cable. 


THE  CONSPIRATORS  215 

Just  then  he  saw  Elaine  run,  screaming,  out  from 
the  cabin  and  leap  overboard. 

"  Stop !  "  shouted  Arnold  in  a  fever  of  excitement, 
lowering  his  glass.  "  There's  a  girl — by  Jove — it's 
Miss  Dodge !  " 

"  Impossible !  "  exclaimed  Woodward. 

"  I  tell  you,  it  is,"  reiterated  Arnold,  thrusting  the 
glass  into  the  Lieutenant's  hand. 

The  motor-boat  had  started  when  Del  Mar  saw 
Elaine  in  the  water.  "  Look,"  he  growled,  pointing, 
"  There's  the  Dodge  girl." 

Elaine  was  swimming  frantically  away  from  the 
boat.  "  Get  her,"  he  ordered,  shielding  his  face  so 
that  she  could  not  see  it. 

They  turned  the  boat  and  headed  toward  her.  She 
struck  out  harder  than  ever  for  the  shore.  On  came 
the  motor-boat. 

Arnold  and  Woodward  looked  at  each  other  in  de 
spair.  What  could  they  do  ? 

Somehow,  by  a  sort  of  instinct,  I  suppose,  I  made 
my  way  as  quickly  as  I  could  along  the  shore  toward 
Fort  Dale,  thinking  perhaps  of  Lieutenant  Woodward. 

As  I  came  upon  the  part  of  the  grounds  of  the  Fort 
that  sloped  down  to  the  beach,  I  saw  a  group  of  young 
officers  standing  about  a  peculiar  affair  on  the  shore  in 
the  shallow  water — half  bird,  half  boat. 

As  I  came  closer,  I  recognized  it  as  a  Thomas 
hydroaeroplane. 

It  suggested  an  idea  and  I  hurried,  shouting. 

One  of  the  men,  seated  in  it,  was  evidently  explain 
ing  its  working  to  the  others. 


216  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  Wait,"  he  said,  as  he  saw  me  running  down  the 
shore,  waving  and  shouting  at  them.  "  Let's  see  what 
this  fellow  wants." 

It  was,  as  I  soon  learned,  the  famous  Captain  Burn- 
side,  of  the  United  States  Aerial  Corps.  Breathless, 
I  told  him  what  I  had  seen  and  that  we  were  all  friends 
of  Woodward's. 

Burnside  thought  a  moment,  and  quickly  made  up 
his  mind. 

"  Come — quick — jump  up  here  with  me,"  he  called. 
Then  to  the  other  men,  "  I'll  be  back  soon.  Wait  here. 
Let  her  go !  " 

I  had  jumped  up  and  they  spun  the  propeller.  The 
hydroaeroplane  feathered  along  the  water,  throwing  a 
cloud  of  white  spray,  then  slowly  rose  in  the  air. 

The  sensation  of  flying  was  delightful,  as  the  fresh: 
morning  wind  cut  our  faces.  We  seemed  to  be  hardly 
moving.  It  was  the  earth  or  rather  the  water  that 
rushed  past  under  us.  But  I  forgot  all  about  my  sen 
sations  in  my  anxiety  for  Elaine. 

As  we  rose  we  could  see  over  the  curve  in  the  shore. 

"  Look !  "  I  exclaimed,  straining  my  eyes.  "  She's 
overboard.  There's  a  motor-boat  after  her.  Faster — 
over  that  way !  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  shouted  Burnside  above  the  roar  of  the 
engine  which  almost  made  conversation  impossible. 

He  shifted  the  planes  a  bit  and  crowded  on  more 
speed. 

The  men  in  the  boat  saw  us.  One  figure,  tall, 
muffled,  had  a  familiar  look,  but  I  could  not  place  it 
and  in  the  excitement  of  the  chase  had  no  chance  to 
tcy.  But  I  could  see  that  he  saw  us  and  was  angry. 


THE  CONSPIRATORS  217 

Apparently  the  man  gave  orders  to  turn,  for  the  boat 
swung  around  just  as  we  swooped  down  and  ran  along 
the  water. 

Elaine  was  exhausted.    Would  we  be  in  time? 

We  planed  along  the  water,  while  the  motor-boat 
sped  off  with  its  baffled  passengers.  Finally  we  stopped, 
in  a  cloud  of  spray. 

Together,  Burnside  and  I  reached  down  and  caught 
Elaine,  not  a  moment  too  soon,  dragging  her  into  the 
boat  of  the  hydroaeroplane. 

If  we  had  not  had  all  we  could  do,  we  might  have 
heard  a  shout  of  encouragement  and  relief  from  the 
hill  where  Woodward  and  Arnold  and  the  rest  were 
watching  anxiously. 

I  threw  my  coat  about  her,  as  the  brave  girl  heroically 
clung  to  us,  half  conscious. 

"  Oh — Walter,"  she  murmured,  "  you  were  just  in 
time." 

"  I  wish  I  could  have  been  sooner,"  I  apologized. 

"They — they  didn't  cut  the  cable — did  they?"  she 
asked,  as  we  rose  from  the  water  again,  bearing  her 
now  to  safety.  "  I  did  my  best." 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE 

DEL  MAR  made  his  way  cautiously  along  the  bank 
of  a  little  river  at  the  mouth  of  which  he  left  the  boat 
after  escaping  from  the  little  steamer. 

Quite  evidently  he  was  worried  by  the  failure  to  cut 
the  great  Atlantic  cable  and  he  was  eager  to  see  whether 
any  leak  had  occurred  in  the  organization  which,  as 
secret  foreign  agent,  he  had  so  carefully  built  up  in 
America. 

As  he  skirted  the  shore  of  the  river,  he  came  to  a 
falls.  Here  he  moved  even  more  cautiously  than  be 
fore,  looking  about  to  make  certain  that  no  one  had 
followed  him. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  that  tumbled  with 
a  roar  over  the  ledge  of  rock,  then  raced  away  swiftly 
to  the  sea  in  a  cloud  of  spray. 

Assured  that  he  was  alone,  he  approached  a  crevice  in 
the  rocks,  near  the  falls.  With  another  hasty  look 
about,  he  reached  in  and  pulled  a  lever. 

Instantly  a  most  marvellous  change  took  place,  in 
credible  almost  beyond  belief.  The  volume  of  water 
that  came  over  the  falls  actually  and  rapidly  decreased 
until  it  almost  stopped,  dripping  slowly  in  a  thin  veil. 
There  was  the  entrance  of  a  cave — literally  hidden  be 
hind  the  falls ! 

218 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          219 

Del  Mar  walked  in.  Inside  was  the  entrance  to  an 
other,  inner  cave,  higher  up  in  the  sheer  stone  of  the 
wall  that  the  waters  had  eroded.  From  the  floor  to 
this  entrance  led  a  ladder.  Del  Mar  climbed  it,  then 
stopped  just  inside  the  entrance  to  the  inner  cave.  For 
a  moment  he  paused.  Then  he  pressed  another  lever. 
Almost  immediately  the  thin  trickle  of  water  grew 
until  at  last  the  roaring  falls  completely  covered  the 
cave  entrance.  It  was  a  clever  concealment,  contrived 
by  damming  the  river  above  and  arranging  a  new  out 
let  controlled  by  flood-gates. 

There  Del  Mar  stood,  in  the  inner  cave.  A  man 
sat  at  a  table,  a  curious  gear  fastened  over  his  head  and 
covering  his  ears.  Before  him  was  a  huge  apparatus 
from  which  flared  a  big  bluish-green  spark,  snapping 
and  crackling  above  the  thunder  of  the  waves.  From 
the  apparatus  ran  wires  apparently  up  through  cables 
that  penetrated  the  rocky  roof  of  the  cavern  and  the 
river  above. 

It  was  Del  Mar's  secret  wireless  station,  close  to  the 
hidden  submarine  harbor  which  had  been  established 
beneath  the  innocent  rocks  of  the  promontory  up  the 
coast.  Far  overhead,  on  the  cliff  over  the  falls,  were 
the  antennas  of  the  wireless. 

"  How  is  she  working?  "  asked  Del  Mar. 

"  Pretty  well,"  answered  the  man. 

"  No  interference?  "  queried  Del  Mar,  adjusting  the 
apparatus. 

The  man  shook  his  head  in  the  negative. 

"  We  must  get  a  quenched  spark  apparatus,"  went 
on  Del  Mar,  pleased  that  nothing  was  wrong  here. 
"  This  rotary  gap  affair  is  out  of  date.  By  the  way,  I 


220  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

want  you  to  be  ready  to  send  a  message,  to  be  relayed 
across  to  our  people.  I've  got  to  consult  the  board  be 
low  in  the  harbor,  first,  however.  I'll  send  a  messenger 
to  you." 

"  Very  well,  sir,"  returned  the  man,  saluting  as  Del 
Mar  went  out. 


Out  at  Fort  Dale,  Lieutenant  Woodward  was  still 
entertaining  his  new  friend,  Professor  Arnold,  and  had 
introduced  him  to  Colonel  Swift,  the  commanding 
officer  at  the  Fort. 

They  were  discussing  the  strange  events  of  the  early 
morning,  when  an  orderly  entered,  saluted  Colonel 
Swift  and  handed  him  a  telegram.  The  Colonel  tore 
it  open  and  read  it,  his  face  growing  grave.  Then  he 
handed  it  to  Woodward,  who  read : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Radio  station  using  illegal  wave  length  in  your 
vicinity.  Investigate  and  report. 

BRANDON, 

Radio  Bureau. 

Professor  Arnold  shook  his  head  slowly,  as  he 
handed  the  telegram  back.  "  There's  a  wireless  ap 
paratus  of  my  own  on  my  yacht,"  he  remarked  slowly. 
"  i  have  an  instrument  there  which  I  think  can  help  you 
greatly.  Let's  see  what  we  can  do." 

"All  right,"  nodded  Colonel  Swift  to  Woodward. 
"  Try." 

The  two  went  out  and  a  few  minutes  later,  on  the 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          221 

shore,  jumped  into  Arnold's  fast  little  motor-boat  and 
sped  out  across  the  water  until  they  swung  around 
alongside  the  trim  yacht  which  Arnold  was  using. 

It  was  a  compact  and  comfortable  little  craft  with 
lines  that  indicated  both  gracefulness  and  speed.  On 
one  of  the  masts,  as  they  approached,  Woodward 
noticed  the  wireless  aerial.  They  climbed  up  the  ladder 
over  the  side  and  made  their  way  directly  to  the  wire 
less  room,  where  Arnold  sat  down  and  at  once  began 
to  adjust  the  apparatus. 

Woodward  seemed  keenly  interested  in  inspecting 
the  plant  which  was  of  a  curious  type  and  not  exactly 
like  any  that  he  had  seen  before. 

"  Wireless  apparatus,"  explained  Arnold,  still  at 
work,  "as  you  know,  is  divided  into  three  parts,  the 
source  of  power,  the  making  and  sending  of  wireless 
waves,  including  the  key,  spark,  condenser  and  tuning 
coil,  and  the  receiving  apparatus — head  telephones, 
antennae,  ground  and  detector.  This  is  a  very  compact 
system  with  facilities  for  a  quick  change  from  one  wave 
length  to  another.  It  has  a  spark  gap,  quenched  type, 
break  system  relay — operator  can  hear  any  interference 
while  transmitting — transformation  by  a  single  throw 
of  a  six-point  switch  which  tunes  the  oscillating  and 
open  circuits  to  resonance." 

Woodward  watched  him  keenly,  following  his  ex 
planation  carefully,  as  Arnold  concluded. 

'  You  might  call  it  a  radio  detective,"  he  added. 

Even  the  startling  experience  of  the  morning  when 
she  was  carried  off  and  finally  jumped  from  the  little 
tramp  steamer  that  had  attempted  to  cut  the  cable  did 


222  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

not  dampen  Elaine's  ardor.  She  missed  the  guiding 
hand  of  Kennedy,  yet  felt  impelled  to  follow  up  and 
investigate  the  strange  things  that  had  been  happening 
in  the  neighborhood  of  her  summer  home  since  his  dis 
appearance. 

I  succeeded  in  getting  her  safely  home  after  Burn- 
side  and  I  rescued  her  in  the  hydroaeroplane,  but  no 
sooner  had  she  changed  her  clothes  for  dry  ones  than 
she  disappeared  herself.  At  least  I  could  not  find  her, 
though,  later,  I  found  that  she  had  stolen  away  to  town 
and  there  had  purchased  a  complete  outfit  of  men's 
clothes  from  a  second  hand  dealer. 

Cautiously,  with  the  large  bundle  under  her  arm,  she 
returned  to  Dodge  Hall  and  almost  sneaked  into  her 
own  home  and  up-stairs  to  her  room.  She  locked  the 
door  and  hastily  unwrapped  the  bundle  taking  out  a 
tattered  suit  and  the  other  things,  holding  them  up  and 
laughing  gleefully  as  she  took  off  her  own  pretty 
clothes  and  donned  these  hideous  garments. 

Quickly  she  completed  her  change  of  costume  and 
outward  character.  As  she  surveyed  herself  in  the 
dainty  mirror  of  her  dressing-table  she  laughed  again 
at  the  incongruity  of  her  pretty  boudoir  and  the  rough 
men's  clothes  she  was  wearing.  Deftly  she  arranged 
her  hair  so  that  her  hat  would  cover  it.  She  picked  a 
black  mustache  from  the  table  and  stuck  it  ;n  her  soft 
upper  lip.  It  tickled  and  she  made  a  wry  face  over  it. 
Then  she  hunted  up  a  cigarette  from  the  bundle  which 
she  had  brought  in,  lighted  it  and  stuck  it  in  the  corner 
of  her  mouth,  letting  it  droop  jauntily.  It  made  her 
cough  tremendously  and  she  threw  it  away. 

Finally  she  went  to  the  door  and  down-stairs.     No 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          223 

one  was  about.  She  opened  the  door  and  gazed  around. 
All  was  quiet.  It  was  a  new  role  for  her,  but,  with  a 
bold  front,  she  went  out  and  passed  down  to  the  gate 
of  the  grounds,  pulling  her  hat  down  over  her  eyes  and 
assuming  a  tough  swagger. 

Only  a  few  minutes  before,  down  in  the  submarine 
harbor,  the  officers  of  the  board  of  foreign  agents  had 
been  grouped  about  Del  Mar,  who  had  entered  and 
taken  his  place  at  their  head,  very  angry  over  the  fail 
ure  to  cut  the  cable.  As  they  concluded  their  hasty 
conference,  he  wrote  a  message  on  a  slip  of  paper. 

"  Take  this  to  our  wireless  station,"  he  ordered, 
handing  it  to  one  of  the  men. 

The  man  took  it,  rose,  and  went  to  a  wardrobe  from 
which  he  extracted  one  of  the  submarine  suits.  With 
the  message  in  his  hand,  he  went  out  of  the  room, 
buckling  on  the  suit. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  messenger  in  the  submarine 
suit  bobbed  up  out  of  the  water,  near  the  promontory, 
and  climbed  slowly  over  the  rocks  toward  a  crevice, 
where  he  began  to  take  off  the  diving  outfit. 

Having  finished,  he  hid  the  suit  among  the  rocks  and 
then  went  along  to  the  little  river,  carefully  skirting  its 
banks  into  the  ravine  in  which  were  the  falls  and  the 
wireless  cave. 

In  her  disguise,  Elaine  had  made  her  way  by  a  sort 
of  instinct  along  the  shore  to  the  rocky  promontory 
where  we  had  discovered  the  message  in  the  tin  tube 
in  the  water. 

Something,  she  knew  not  what,  was  going  on  about 
there,  and  she  reasoned  that  it  was  not  all  over  yet. 
She  was  right.  As  she  looked  about  keenly  she  did  see 


224  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

something,  and  she  hid  among  the  rocks.  It  was  a 
man,  all  dripping,  in  an  outlandish  helmet  and  suit. 

She  saw  him  slink  into  a  crevice  and  take  off  the 
suit,  then,  as  he  moved  toward  the  river  ravine,  she 
stole  up  after  him. 

Suddenly  she  stopped  stark  still,  surprised,  and 
stared. 

The  man  had  actually  gone  up  to  the  very  waterfall. 
He  had  pressed  what  looked  like  a  lever  and  the  water 
over  the  falls  seemed  to  stop.  Then  he  walked  directly 
through  into  a  cave. 

In  the  greatest  wonder,  Elaine  crept  along  toward 
the  falls.  Inside  the  cave  Del  Mar's  emissary  started 
to  climb  a  ladder  to  an  inner  cave.  As  he  reached  the 
top,  he  glanced  out  and  saw  Elaine  by  the  entrance. 
With  an  oath  he  jumped  into  the  inner  entrance.  His 
hand  reached  eagerly  for  a  lever  in  the  rocks  and  as 
he  found  and  held  it,  he  peered  out  carefully. 

Elaine  cautiously  came  from  behind  a  rock  where 
she  had  hidden  herself  and  seeing  no  one  apparently 
watching,  now,  advanced  until  she  stood  directly  under 
the  trickle  of  water  which  had  once  been  the  falls.  She 
gazed  into  the  cave,  curiously  uncertain  whether  she 
dared  to  go  in  alone  or  not. 

The  emissary  jerked  fiercely  at  the  lever  as  he  saw 
Elaine. 

Above  the  falls  a  dam  had  been  built  and  by  a  sys 
tem  of  levers  the  gates  could  be  operated  so  that  the 
water  could  be  thrown  over  the  falls  or  diverted  away, 
at  will.  As  the  man  pressed  the  lever,  the  flood  gates 
worked  quickly. 

Elaine  stood  gazing  eagerly  into  the  blackness  of 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          225 

the  cave.  Just  then  a  great  volume  of  water  from 
above  crashed  down  on  her,  with  almost  crushing 
weight. 

How  she  lived  through  it  she  never  knew.  But, 
fortunately,  she  had  not  gone  quite  far  enough  to  get 
the  full  force  of  the  water.  Still,  the  terrific  flood 
easily  overcame  her. 

She  was  swept,  screaming,  down  the  stream. 

Rather  alarmed  at  the  strange  disappearance  of 
Elaine  after  I  brought  her  home,  I  had  started  out 
along  the  road  to  the  shore  to  look  for  her,  thinking 
that  she  might  perhaps  have  returned  there. 

As  I  walked  along  a  young  tough — at  least  at  the 
time  I  thought  it  was  a  young  tough,  so  good  was  the 
disguise  she  had  assumed  and  so  well  did  she  carry  it 
off — slouched  past  me. 

What  such  a  character  could  be  doing  in  the  neigh 
borhood  I  could  not  see.  But  he  was  so  noticeably 
tough  that  I  turned  and  looked.  He  kept  his  eyes 
averted  as  if  afraid  of  being  recognized. 

"  Great  Csesar,"  I  muttered  to  myself,  "  that's  a 
roughneck.  This  place  is  sure  getting  to  be  a  hang-out 
for  gunmen." 

I  shrugged  my  shoulders  and  continued  my  walk.  It 
was  no  business  of  mine.  Finding  no  trace  of  Elaine, 
I  returned  to  the  house.  Aunt  Josephine  was  in  the 
library,  alone. 

"Where's  Elaine?"  I  asked  anxiously. 

"  I  don't  know,"  she  replied.  "  I  don't  think  she's 
at  home." 

"  Well,  I  can't  find  her  anywhere,"  I  frowned  wan 
ts 


226  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

dering  out  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  and  thrusting  my 
hands  deep  in  my  pockets  as  an  aid  to  thought. 

Somehow,  I  felt,  I  didn't  seem  to  get  on  well  as  a 
detective  without  Kennedy.  Yet,  so  far,  a  kind  provi 
dence  seemed  to  have  watched  over  us.  Was  it  be 
cause  we  were  children — or — I  rejected  that  alter 
native. 

Walking  along  leisurely  I  made  my  way  down  to  the 
shore.  At  a  bridge  that  crossed  a  rather  turbulent 
stream  as  it  tumbled  its  way  toward  the  sea,  I  paused 
and  looked  at  the  water  reflectively. 

Suddenly  my  vagrant  interest  was  aroused.  Up  the 
stream  I  saw  some  one  struggling  in  the  water  and 
shouting  for  help  as  the  current  carried  her  along, 
screaming. 

It  was  Elaine.  The  hat  and  mustache  of  her  dis 
guise  were  gone  and  her  beautiful  Titian  hair  was 
spread  out  on  the  water  as  it  carried  her  now  this  way, 
now  that,  while  she  struck  out  with  all  her  strength  to 
keep  afloat.  I  did  not  stop  to  think  how  or  why  she 
was  there.  I  swung  over  the  bridge  rail,  stripping  off 
my  coat,  ready  to  dive.  On  she  came  with  the  swift 
current  to  the  bridge.  As  she  approached  I  dived.  It 
was  not  a  minute  too  soon.  In  her  struggles  she  had 
become  thoroughly  exhausted.  She  was  a  good  swim 
mer  but  the  fight  with  nature  was  unequal. 

I  reached  her  in  a  second  or  so  and  took  her  hand. 
Half  pulling,  half  shoving  her,  I  struck  out  for  the 
shore.  We  managed  to  make  it  together  where  the 
current  was  not  quite  so  strong  and  climbed  safely  up 
a  rock. 

Elaine  sank  down,  choking  and  gasping,  not  unconr 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          227 

scious  but  pretty  much  all  in  and  exhausted.  I  looked 
at  her  in  amazement.  She  was  the  tough  character  I 
had  just  seen. 

"  Why,  where  in  the  world  did  you  get  those  togs?  " 
I  queried. 

"  Never  mind  my  clothes,  Walter,"  she  gasped. 
"  Take  me  home  for  some  dry  ones.  I  have  a  clue." 

She  rose,  determined  to  shake  off  the  effects  of  her 
recent  plunge  and  went  toward  the  house.  As  I  helped 
her  she  related  breathlessly  what  she  has  just  seen. 

Meanwhile,  back  of  that  wall  of  water,  the  wireless 
operator  in  the  cave  was  sending  the  messages  which 
Del  Mar's  emissary  dictated  to  him,  one  after  another. 

With  the  high  resistance  receiving  apparatus  over  his 
head,  Arnold  was  listening  to  the  wireless  signals  that 
came  over  his  "  radio  detective  "  on  the  yacht,  moving 
the  slider  back  and  forth  on  a  sort  of  tuning  coil,  as 
he  listened.  Woodward  stood  close  beside  him. 

"  As  you  know,"  Arnold  remarked,  "  by  the  use  of 
an  aerial,  messages  may  be  easily  received  from  any 
number  of  stations.  Laws,  rules,  and  regulations  may 
be  adopted  by  the  government  to  shut  out  interlopers 
and  to  plug  busybody  ears,  but  the  greater  part  of 
whatever  is  transmitted  by  the  Hertzian  waves  can  be 
snatched  down  by  this  wireless  detective  of  mine. 
Herv  I  can  sit  in  my  wireless  room  with  this  ear-phone 
clamped  over  my  head  drinking  in  news,  plucking  the 
secrets  of  others  from  the  sky — in  other  words,  this 
is  eavesdropping  by  a  wireless  wire-tapper." 

"  Are  you  getting  anything  now  ?  "  asked  Wood 
ward. 


228          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Arnold  nodded,  as  he  seized  a  pencil  and  started  to 
write.  The  lieutenant  bent  forward  in  tense  interest 
.Finally  Arnold  read  what  lie  had  written  and  with  a 
peculiar,  quiet  smile  handed  it  over. 

Woodward  read.  It  was  a  senseless  jumble  of  dots 
and  dashes  of  the  Morse  code  but,  although  he  was 
familiar  with  the  code,  he  could  make  nothing  out  of 
it. 

"  It's  the  Morse  code  all  right,"  he  said,  handing  it 
back  with  a  puzzled  look,  "  but  it  doesn't  make  any 
sense." 

Arnold  smiled  again,  took  the  paper,  and  without  a 
word  wrote  on  it  some  more.  Then  he  handed  it  back 
to  Woodward.  "  An  old  trick,"  he  said.  "  Reverse 
the  dots  and  dashes  and  see  what  you  get." 

Woodward  looked  at  it,  as  Arnold  had  reversed  it 
and  his  face  lighted  up. 

"  Harbor  successfully  mined,"  he  quoted  in  sur 
prise. 

"  I'll  show  you  another  thing  about  this  radio  de 
tective  of  mine,"  went  on  Arnold  energetically.  "  It's 
not  only  a  wave  length  measurer,  but  by  a  process  of 
my  own  I  can  determine  approximately  the  distance 
between  the  sending  and  the  receiving  points  of  a  mes 
sage." 

He  attached  another,  smaller  machine  to  the  wire 
less  detector.  In  the  face  was  a  moving  finger  which 
swung  .  vcr  a  dial  marked  off  in  miles  from  one  up 
ward.  As  Arnold  adjusted  the  new  detector,  the  hand 
began  to  move  slowly.  Woodward  looked  eagerly.  It 
did  not  move  far,  but  came  to  rest  above  the  figure 

"  2  " 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          229 

"  Not  so  very  far  away,  you  see,  Lieutenant,"  re 
marked  Arnold,  pointing  at  the  dial  face. 

He  seized  his  glass  and  hurried  to  the  deck,  levelling 
it  at  the  shore,  leaning  far  over  the  rail  in  his  eager 
ness.  As  he  swept  the  shore,  he  stopped  suddenly. 
There  was  a  house-roof  among  the  trees  with  a  wire 
less  aerial  fastened  to  the  chimney,  but  not  quite  con 
cealed  by  the  dense  foliage. 

"  Look,"  he  cried  to  Woodward,  with  an  exclam 
ation  of  satisfaction,  handing  over  the  glass. 

Woodward  looked.  "  A  secret  wireless  station,  all 
right,"  he  agreed,  lowering  the  glass  after  a  long  look. 

"  We'd  better  get  over  there  right  away,"  planned 
Arnold,  leading  the  way  to  the  ladder  over  the  side 
of  the  yacht  and  calling  to  the  sailor  who  had  managed 
the  little  motor-boat  to  follow  him. 

Quickly  they  skimmed  across  to  the  shore.  "  I  think 
we'd  better  send  to  the  Fort  for  some  men,"  considered 
Arnold  as  they  landed.  "  We  may  need  reinforce 
ments  before  we  get  through." 

Woodward  nodded  and  Arnold  hastily  wrote  a  note 
on  a  rather  large  scrap  of  paper  which  he  happened  to 
have  in  his  pocket. 

"  Take  this  to  Colonel  Swift  at  Fort  Dale,"  he  di 
rected  the  sailor.  "  And  hurry !  " 

The  sailor  loped  off,  half  on  a  run,  as  Arnold  and 
Woodward  left  down  the  shore,  proceeding  carefully. 

At  top  speed,  Arnold's  sailor  made  his  way  to  Fort 
Dale  and  was  directed  by  the  sentry  to  Colonel  Swift 
who  was  standing  before  the  headquarters  with  several 
officers. 


230  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"A  message  from  Lieutenant  Woodward  and  Pro 
fessor  Arnold,"  he  announced,  approaching  the  com 
manding  officer  and  handing  him  the  note.  Colonel 
Swift  tore  it  open  and  read : 

Have  located  radio  aerial  in  the  woods 
along  shore.  Please  send  squad  of  men  with 
bearer. — ARNOLD. 

"You  just  left  them?"  queried  the  Colonel. 

"  Yes  sir,"  replied  the  sailor.  "  We  came  ashore  in 
his  boat.  I  don't  know  exactly  where  they  went  but 
I  know  the  direction  and  we  can  catch  up  with  them 
easily  if  we  hurry,  sir." 

The  colonel  handed  the  note  quickly  to  a  cavalry 
officer  beside  him  who  read  it,  saluted  at  the  orders  that 
followed,  turned  and  strode  off,  hastily  stuffing  the 
paper  in  his  belt,  as  the  sailor  went,  too. 

Meanwhile,  Del  Mar's  valet  was  leaving  the  bunga 
low  and  walking  down  the  road  on  an  errand  for  his 
master.  Up  the  road  he  heard  the  clatter  of  hoofs. 
He  stepped  back  off  the  road  and  from  his  covert  he 
could  see  a  squad  of  cavalry  headed  by  the  captain  and 
a  sailor  cantering  past. 

The  captain  turned  in  the  saddle  to  speak  to  the 
sailor,  who  rode  like  a  horse  marine,  and  as  he  did  so, 
the  turning  of  his  body  loosened  a  paper  which  he  had 
stuffed  quickly  into  his  belt.  It  fell  to  the  ground. 
In  their  hurry  the  troop,  close  behind,  rode  over  it. 
But  it  did  not  escape  the  quick  eye  of  Del  Mar's  valet. 

They  had  scarcely  disappeared  around  a  bend  in  the 
road  when  he  stepped  out  and  pounced  on  the  paper, 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          231 

reading  it  eagerly.  Every  line  of  his  face  showed 
fear  as  he  turned  and  ran  back  to  the  bungalow. 

"  See  what  I  found,"  he  cried  breathlessly  bursting 
in  on  Del  Mar  who  was  seated  at  his  desk,  having  re 
turned  from  the  harbor. 

Del  Mar  read  it  with  a  scowl  of  fury.  Then  he 
seized  his  hat,  and  a  short  hunter's  axe,  and  disap 
peared  through  the  panel  into  the  subterranean  pas 
sage  which  took  him  by  the  shortest  cut  through  the 
very  hill  to  the  shore. 

Slowly  Arnold  and  Woodward  made  their  way  along 
the  shore,  carefully  searching  for  the  spot  where  they 
had  seen  the  house  with  the  aerial.  At  last  they  came 
to  a  place  where  they  could  see  the  deserted  house,  far 
up  on  the  side  of  a  ravine  above  a  river  and  a  water 
falls.  They  dived  into  the  thick  underbrush  for  cover 
and  went  up  the  hill. 

Some  distance  off  from  the  house,  they  parted  the 
bushes  and  gazed  off  across  an  open  space  at  the  ram 
shackle  building.  As  they  looked  they  could  see  a 
man  hurry  across  from  the  opposite  direction  and 
into  the  house. 

"As  I  live,  I  think  that's  Del  Mar,"  muttered 
Arnold. 

Woodward  nodded,  doubtfully,  though. 

In  the  house,  Del  Mar  hurried  to  a  wall  where  he 
found  and  pressed  a  concealed  spring.  A  small  cab 
inet  in  the  plaster  opened  and  he  took  out  a  little  tele 
phone  which  he  rang  and  through  which  he  spoke 
hastily.  "  Pull  in  the  wires,"  he  shouted.  "  We're 
discovered,  I  think." 


432  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Down  in  the  wireless  station  in  the  cave,  the  oper 
ator  at  his  instrument  heard  the  signal  of  the  telephone 
and  quickly  answered  it.  "  All  right,  sir,"  he  returned 
with  a  look  of  great  excitement  and  anxiety.  "  Cut 
the  wires  and  I'll  pull  them  in." 

Putting  back  the  telephone,  Del  Mar  ran  to  the  win 
dow  and  looked  out  between  the  broken  slats  of  the 
closed  blinds.  "  Confound  them !  "  he  muttered  an 
grily. 

He  could  see  Arnold  and  Woodward  cautiously  ap 
proaching.  A  moment  later  he  stepped  back  and  pulled 
a  silk  mask  over  his  upper  face,  leaving  only  his  eyes 
visible.  Then  he  seized  his  hunter's  axe  and  dashed  up 
the  stairs.  Through  the  scuttle  of  the  roof  he  came, 
making  his  way  over  to  the  chimney  to  which  the  wire 
less  antennae  were  fastened. 

Hastily  he  cut  the  wires  which  ran  through  the  roof 
from  the  aerial.  As  he  did  so  he  saw  them  disappear 
through  the  roof.  Below,  in  the  cave,  down  in  the 
ravine  back  of  the  falls,  the  operator  was  hastily  haul 
ing  in  the  wire  Del  Mar  had  cut. 

Viciously  next,  Del  Mar  fell  upon  the  wooden  aerial 
itself,  chopping  it  right  and  left  with  powerful  blows. 
He  broke  it  off  and  threw  it  over  the  roof. 

Below,  Arnold  and  Woodward,  taking  advantage  of 
every  tree  and  shrub  for  concealment,  had  almost 
reached  the  house  when  the  broken  aerial  fell  with  a 
bang  almost  on  them.  In  surprise  they  dropped  back 
of  a  tree  and  looked  up.  But  from  their  position  they 
could  see  nothing.  Together  they  drew  their  guns  and 
advanced  more  cautiously  at  the  house. 

Del  Mar  made  his  way  back  quickly  over  the  roof, 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          233 

back  through  the  scuttle  and  down  the  stairs  again. 
Should  he  go  out?  He  looked  out  of  the  window. 
Then  he  went  to  the  door.  An  instant  he  paused  think 
ing  and  listening,  his  axe  raised,  ready  for  a  blow. 

Arnold  and  Woodward,  by  this  time,  had  reached 
the  door  which  swung  open  on  its  rusty  hinges.  Wood 
ward  was  about  to  go  in  when  he  felt  a  hand  on  his 
arm. 

"  Wait,"  cautioned  Arnold.  He  took  off  his  hat  and 
jammed  it  on  the  end  of  a  stick.  Slowly  he  shoved  the 
door  open,  then  thrust  the  hat  and  stick  just  a  fraction 
of  a  foot  forward, 

Del  Mar,  waiting,  alert,  saw  the  door  open  and  a  hat. 
He  struck  at  it  hard  with  the  axe  and  merely  the  hat 
and  stick  fell  to  the  floor. 

"  Now,  come  on,"  shouted  Arnold  to  Woodward. 

In  the  other  hand,  Del  Mar  held  a  chair.  As  Wood 
ward  dashed  in  with  Arnold  beside  him,  Del  Mar  shied 
the  chair  at  their  feet.  Woodward  fell  over  it  in  a 
heap  and  as  he  did  so  the  delay  was  all  that  Del  Mar 
had  hoped  to  gain.  Without  a  second's  hesitation  he 
dived  through  an  open  window,  just  as  Arnold  ran 
forward,  avoiding  W'oodward  and  the  chair.  It  was 
spectacular,  but  it  worked.  Arnold  fired,  but  even 
that  was  not  quick  enough.  He  turned  and  with 
Woodward  who  had  picked  himself  up  in  spite  of  his 
barked  shins  and  they  ran  back  through  the  door  by 
which  they  had  entered. 

Recovering  himself,  Del  Mar  dashed  for  the  woods 
just  as  Arnold  and  Woodward  ran  around  the  side  of 
the  house,  still  blazing  away  after  him,  as  they  fol* 
lowed,  rapidly  gaining. 


234  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 


Elaine  changed  her  clothes  quickly.  Meanwhile  she 
had  ordered  horses  for  both  of  us  and  a  groom  brought 
them  around  from  the  stables.  It  took  me  only  a  short 
time  to  jump  into  some  dry  things  and  I  waited  impa 
tiently. 

She  was  ready  very  soon,  however,  and  we  mounted 
and  cantered  off,  again  in  the  direction  of  the  shore 
where  she  had  seen  the  remarkable  waterfall,  of  which 
she  had  told  me. 

We  had  not  gone  far  when  we  heard  sounds,  as  if 
an  army  were  bearing  down  on  us.  "  What's  that?" 
I  asked. 

Elaine  turned  and  looked.  It  was  a  squad  of  cav 
alry. 

"  Why,  it's  Lieutenant  Woodward's  friend,  Captain 
Price,"  she  exclaimed,  waving  to  the  captain  at  the 
head  of  the  squad. 

A  moment  later  Captain  Price  pulled  up  and  bowed. 
Quickly  we  told  him  of  what  Elaine  had  just  dis 
covered. 

"That's  strange,"  he  said.  "This  man—  '  indi 
cating  the  sailor — "  has  just  told  me  that  Lieutenant 
Woodward  and  Professor  Arnold  are  investigating  a 
wireless  outfit  over  near  there.  Perhaps  there's  some 
connection." 

"May  we  join  you?"  she  asked. 

"  By  all  means,"  he  returned.  "  I  was  about  to  sug 
gest  it  myself." 

We  fell  in  behind  with  the  rest  and  were  off  again. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  sailor  we  came  at  last  to 


THE  WIRELESS  DETECTIVE          235 

the  ravine  where  we  looked  about  searchingly  for  some 
trace  of  Arnold  and  Woodward. 

"  What's  that  noise?  "  exclaimed  one  of  the  cavalry 
men. 

We  could  hear  shots,  above  us. 

"  They  may  need  us,"  cried  Elaine,  impatiently. 

It  was  impossible  to  ride  up  the  sheer  height  above. 

"  Dismount,"  ordered  Captain  Price. 

His  men  jumped  down  and  we  followed  him.  Elaine 
struggled  up,  now  helped  by  me,  now  helping  me. 

Further  down  the  hill  from  the  deserted  house  which 
we  could  see  above  us  at  the  top  was  an  underground 
passage  which  had  been  built  to  divert  part  of  the  water 
above  the  falls  for  power.  Through  it  the  water  surged 
and  over  this  boiling  stream  ran  a  board  walk,  the 
length  of  the  tunnel. 

Into  this  tunnel  we  could  see  that  a  masked  man  had 
made  his  way.  As  he  did  so,  he  turned  for  just  a  mo 
ment  and  fired  a  volley  of  shots. 

Elaine  screamed.  There  were  Arnold  and  Wood 
ward,  his  targets,  coming  on  boldly,  as  yet  unhit.  They 
rushed  in  after  him,  in  spite  of  his  running  fire,  re 
turning  his  shots  and  darting  toward  the  tunnel  en 
trance  through  which  he  still  blazed  back  at  them. 

From  our  end  of  the  ravine,  we  could  see  precisely 
what  was  going  on.  "  Come — the  other  end  of  the 
tunnel,"  shouted  Price,  who  had  evidently  been  over 
the  ground  and  knew  it. 

We  made  our  way  quickly  to  it  and  it  seemed  as  if 
we  had  our  man  trapped,  like  a  rat  in  a  hole. 

In  the  tunnel  the  man  was  firing  back  at  his  pursuers 
as  he  ran  along  the  board  walk  for  our  end.  He  looked 


236  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

up  just  in  time  as  he  approached  us.  There  he  could 
see  Price  and  his  cavalry  waiting,  cutting  off  retreat. 
We  were  too  many  for  him.  He  turned  and  took  a 
step  back.  There  were  Arnold  and  Woodward  with 
levelled  guns  peering  in  as  though  they  could  not  see 
very  clearly.  In  a  moment  their  eyes  would  become  ac 
customed  as  his  to  the  darkness.  What  should  he  do  ? 
There  was  not  a  second  to  waste.  He  looked  down  at 
the  planks  beneath  him  and  the  black  water  slipping 
past  on  its  way  to  the  power  station.  It  was  a  desper 
ate  chance.  But  it  was  all  that  was  left.  He  dropped 
down  and  let  himself  without  even  a  splash  into  the 
water. 

Arnold  and  Woodward  took  a  step  into  the  dark 
ness,  scarcely  knowing  what  to  expect,  their  eyes  a  bit 
better  accustomed  to  the  dusk.  But  if  they  had  been 
there  an  hour,  in  all  probability  they  could  not  have 
seen  what  was  at  their  very  feet. 

Del  Mar  had  sunk  and  was  swimming  under  water 
in  the  swift  black  current  sweeping  under  them.  As 
they  entered,  he  passed  out,  nerved  up  to  despera 
tion. 

Down  the  stream,  just  before  it  took  its  final  plunge 
to  the  power  wheel,  Del  Mar  managed  by  a  super 
human  effort  to  reach  out  and  grasp  a  wooden  support 
of  the  flooring  again  and  pull  himself  out  of  the  stream. 
Smiling  grimly  to  himself,  he  hurried  up  the  bank. 

"  Some  one's  coming,"  whispered  Price.  Get 
ready." 

We  levelled  our  guns.    I  was  about  to  fire. 

"  Look  out !  Don't  shoot !  "  warned  a  voice  sharply. 
It  was  Elaine.  Her  keen  eyes  and  quick  perception 


237 

had  recognized  Arnold,  leading  Woodward.  We  low 
ered  our  guns. 

"  Did  you  see  a  man,  masked,  come  out  here  ?  " 
cried  Woodward. 

"  No — he  must  have  gone  your  way,"  we  called. 

"  No,  he  couldn't." 

Arnold  was  eagerly  questioning  the  captain  as 
Elaine  and  I  approached.  "  Dropped  into  the  water — 
risked  almost  certain  death,"  he  muttered,  half  turning 
and  seeing  us. 

"  I  want  to  congratulate  you  on  your  nerve  for  going 
in  there,"  began  Elaine,  advancing  toward  the  profes 
sor. 

Apparently  he  neither  heard  nor  saw  us,  for  he 
turned  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  with  Price  and  went 
into  the  cave  as  though  he  were  too  busy  to  pay  any 
attention  to  anything  else. 

Elaine  looked  up  at  me,  in  blank  astonishment. 

"  What  an  impolite  man,"  she  murmured,  gazing 
at  the  figure  all  stooped  over  as  K  disappeared  in  the 
darkness  of  the  tunnel. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  DEATH   CLOUD 

OFF  a  lonely  wharf  in  a  deserted  part  of  the  coast 
some  miles  from  the  promontory  which  afforded  Del 
Mar  his  secret  submarine  harbor,  a  ship  was  riding  at 
anchor. 

On  the  wharf  a  group  of  men,  husky  lascars,  were 
straining  their  eyes  at  the  mysterious  craft. 

"  Here  she  comes,"  muttered  one  of  the  men,  "  at 
last." 

From  the  ship  a  large  yawl  had  put  out.  As  she  ap 
proached  the  wharf  it  could  be  seen  that  she  was  loaded 
to  the  gunwales  with  cases  and  boxes.  She  drew  up 
close  to  the  wharf  and  the  men  fell  to  unloading  her, 
lifting  up  the  boxes  as  though  they  were  weighted  with 
feathers  instead  of  metal  and  explosives. 

Down  the  shore,  at  the  same  time,  behind  a  huge 
rock,  crouched  a  rough  looking  tramp.  His  interest 
in  the  yawl  and  its  cargo  was  even  keener  than  that  of 
the  lascars. 

"  Supplies,"  he  muttered,  moving  back  cautiously 
and  up  the  bluff.  "  I  wonder  where  they  are  taking 
them?" 

Marcus  Del  Mar  had  chosen  an  old  and  ruined  hotel 
not  far  from  the  shore  as  his  storehouse  and  arsenal. 

238  I 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  239 

Already  he  was  there,  pacing  up  and  down  the  rotted 
veranda  which  shook  under  his  weight. 

"  Come,  hurry  up,"  he  called  impatiently  as  the  first 
of  the  men  carrying  a  huge  box  on  his  back  made  his 
appearance  up  the  hill. 

One  after  another  they  trooped  in  and  Del  Mar  led 
them  to  the  hotel,  unlocking  the  door. 

Inside,  the  old  hostelry  was  quite  as  ramshackle  as 
outside.  What  had  once  been  the  dining-room  now 
held  nothing  but  a  long,  rickety  table  and  several  chairs. 

"  Put  them  there,"  ordered  Del  Mar,  directing  the 
disposal  of  the  cases.  "  Then  you  can  begin  work.  I 
shall  be  back  soon." 

He  went  out  and  as  he  did  so,  two  men  seized  guns 
from  a  corner  near-by  and  followed  him.  On  the 
veranda  he  paused  and  turned  to  the  men. 

"  If  any  one  approaches  the  house — any  one,  you  un 
derstand — make  him  a  prisoner  and  send  for  me,"  he 
ordered.  "  If  he  resists,  shoot." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  they  replied,  moving  over  and  station* 
ing  themselves  one  at  each  angle  of  the  narrow  paths 
that  ran  before  the  old  house. 

Del  Mar  turned  and  plunged  deliberately  into  the 
bushes,  as  if  for  a  cross  country  walk,  unobserved. 

Meanwhile,  by  another  path  up  the  bluff,  the  tramp 
had  made  his  way  parallel  to  the  line  taken  by  the  men. 
He  paused  at  the  top  of  the  bluff  where  some  bushes 
overhung  and  parted  them. 

"  Their  headquarters,"  he  remarked  to  himself,  un 
der  his  breath. 

Elaine,  Aunt  Josephine  and  I  were  on  the  lawn  that 


240  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

forenoon  when  a  groom  in  resplendent  livery  came  up 
to  us. 

"Miss  Elaine  Dodge?"  he  bowed. 

Elaine  took  the  note  he  offered  and  he  departed  with 
another  bow. 

"  Oh,  isn't  that  delightful,"  she  cried  with  pleasure, 
handing  the  note  to  rne. 

I  read  it :  "  The  Wilkeshire  Country  Club  will  be 
honored  if  Miss  Dodge  and  her  friends  will  join  the 
paper  chase  this  afternoon.  L.  H.  Brown,  Secretary." 

"  I  suppose  a  preparation  for  the  fox  or  drag  hunt 
ing  season?  "  I  queried. 

"  Yes,"  she  replied.     "  Will  you  go  ?  " 

"  I  don't  ride  very  well,"  I  answered,  "  but  I'll  go." 

"  Oh,  and  here's  Mr.  Del  Mar,"  she  added,  turning. 
"  You'll  join  us  at  the  Wilkeshire  hunt  in  a  paper  chase 
this  afternoon,  surely,  Mr.  Del  Mar?" 

"  Charmed,  I'm  sure,"  he  agreed  gracefully. 

For  several  minutes  we  chatted,  planning,  then  he 
withdrew.  "  I  shall  meet  you  on  the  way  to  the  Club," 
he  promised. 

It  was  not  long  before  Elaine  was  ready,  and  from 
the  stable  a  groom  led  three  of  the  best  trained  cross 
country  horses  in  the  neighborhood,  for  old  Taylor 
Dodge,  Elaine's  father,  had  been  passionately  fond  of 
hunting,  as  had  been  both  Elaine  and  Aunt  Josephine. 

We  met  on  the  porch  and  a  few  minutes  later 
mounted  and  cantered  away.  On  the  road  Del  Mar 
joined  us  and  we  galloped  along  to  the  Hunt  Club, 
careful,  however,  to  save  the  horses  as  much  as  pos 
sible  for  the  dash  over  the  fields. 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  241 

For  some  time  the  uncouth  tramp  continued  gazing 
fixedly  out  of  the  bushes  at  the  deserted  hotel. 

Suddenly,  he  heard  a  noise  and  dropped  flat  on  the 
ground,  looking  keenly  about.  Through  the  trees  he 
could  see  one  of  Del  Mar's  men  stationed  on  sentry 
duty.  He  was  leaning  against  a  tree,  on  the  alert. 

The  tramp  rose  cautiously  and  moved  off  in  another 
direction  to  that  in  which  he  had  been  making  his  way, 
endeavoring  to  flank  the  sentry.  Further  along,  how 
ever,  another  of  Del  Mar's  men  was  standing  in  the 
same  attentive  manner  near  a  path  that  led  from  the 
woods. 

As  the  tramp  approached,  the  sentry  heard  a  crackle 
of  the  brush  and  stepped  forward.  Before  the  tramp 
knew  it,  he  was  covered  by  a  rifle  from  the  sentry  in 
an  unexpected  quarter. 

Any  one  but  the  sentry,  with  half  an  eye,  might  have 
seen  that  the  fear  he  showed  was  cleverly  feigned.  He 
threw  his  hands  above  his  head  even  before  he  wa? 
ordered  and  in  general  was  the  most  tractable  captive 
imaginable.  The  sentry  blew  a  whistle,  whereat  the 
other  sentry  ran  in. 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  him,"  asked  the  captor. 

"  Master's  orders  to  take  any  one  to  the  rendez 
vous,"  responded  the  other  firmly,  "  and  lock  him  up." 

Together  they  forced  the  tramp  to  march  double 
quick  toward  the  old  hotel.  One  sentry  dropped  back 
at  the  door  and  the  other  drove  the  tramp  before  him 
into  the  hotel,  avoiding  the  big  room  on  the  side  where 
the  men  were  at  work  and  forcing  him  up-stairs  to  the 
attic  which  had  once  been  the  servant's  quarters. 

There  was  no  window  in  the  room  and  it  was  empty. 

16 


242  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

The  only  light  came  in  through  a  skylight  in  the  roof. 

The  sentry  thrust  the  tramp  into  this  room  and  tried 
a  door  leading  to  the  next  room.  It  was  locked.  At 
the  point  of  his  gun  the  sentry  frisked  the  tramp  for 
weapons,  but  found  none.  As  he  did  so  the  tramp 
trembled  mightily.  But  no  sooner  had  the  sentry  gone 
than  the  tramp  smiled  quietly  to  himself.  He  tried 
both  doors.  They  were  locked.  Then  he  looked  at 
the  skylight  and  meditated. 

Down  below,  although  he  did  not  know  it,  in  the 
bare  dining-room  which  had  been  arranged  into  a  sort 
of  chemical  laboratory,  Del  Mar's  men  were -engaged 
in  manufacturing  gas  bombs  much  like  those  used  in 
the  war  in  Europe.  Before  them  was  a  formidable 
array  of  bottles  and  retorts.  The  containers  for  the 
bombs  were  large  and  very  brittle  globes  of  hard  rub 
ber.  As  the  men  made  the  gas  and  forced  it  under 
tremendous  pressure  into  tubes,  they  protected  them 
selves  by  wearing  goggles  for  the  eyes  and  large  masks 
of  cloth  and  saturated  cotton  over  their  mouths  and 
noses. 

Satisfied  with  the  safety  of  his  captive,  the  sentry 
made  his  way  down-stairs  and  out  again  to  report  to 
Del  Mar. 

At  the  bungalow,  Del  Mar's  valet  was  setting  the 
library  in  order  when  he  heard  a  signal  in  the  secret 
passage.  He  pressed  the  button  on  the  desk  and 
opened  the  panel.  From  it  the  sentry  entered. 

"  Where  is  Mr.  Del  Mar?  "  he  asked  hurriedly,  look 
ing  around.  "  We've  been  followed  to  the  headquar 
ters  by  a  tramp  whom  I've  captured,  and  I  don't  knovr 
what  to  do  with  him." 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  243 

"  He  is  not  here,"  answered  the  valet.  "  He  has 
gone  to  the  Country  Club." 

"  Confound  it,"  returned  the  sentry,  vexed  at  the 
enforced  waste  of  time.  "  Do  you  think  you  can  reach 
him?" 

"  If  I  hurry,  I  may,"  nodded  the  valet. 

"  Then  do  so,"  directed  the  sentry. 

He  moved  back  into  the  panel  and  disappeared  while 
the  valet  closed  it.  A  moment  later  he,  too,  picked  up 
his  hat  and  hurried  out. 

At  the  Wilkeshire  Club  a  large  number  of  hunters 
had  arrived  for  the  imitation  meet.  Elaine,  Aunt 
Josephine,  Del  Mar  and  myself  rode  up  and  were 
greeted  by  them  as  the  Master  of  Fox  Hounds  assem 
bled  us.  Off  a  bit,  a  splendid  pack  of  hounds  was  held 
by  the  huntsman  while  they  debated  whether  to  hold  a 
paper  chase  or  to  try  a  drag  hunt. 

"You  start  your  cross-country  riding  early,"  com 
mented  Del  Mar. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Elaine.  "  You  see  we  can  hardly 
wait  until  autumn  and  the  wreather  is  so  fine  and  cool, 
we  feel  that  wre  ought  to  get  into  trim  during  the  sum 
mer.  So  we  have  paper  chases  and  drag  hunts  aa 
soon  as  we  can,  mainly  to  please  the  younger  set." 

The  chase  was  just  about  to  start,  when  the  valet, 
came  up.  Del  Mar  caught  his  eye  and  excused  himself 
to  us.  What  he  said,  we  could  not  hear,  but  Del  Mar 
frowned,  nodded  and  dismissed  him. 

Just  then  the  horn  sounded  and  we  went  off,  dashing 
across  the  road  into  a  field  in  full  chase  after  the 
hounds,  taking  the  fences  and  settling  down  to  a  good 


244  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

half  hour's  run  over  the  most  beautiful  country  I  have 
ever  seen. 

The  hounds  had  struck  the  trail,  which  of  course, 
as  was  finally  decided,  was  nothing  but  that  laid  by  an 
anise  -seed  bag  dragged  over  the  ground.  It  was  none 
the  less,  in  fact  perhaps  more  interesting  for  that. 

The  huntsman  winded  his  horn  and  mirthful  shouts 
of  "  Gone  away!  "  sounded  in  imitation  of  a  real  hunt. 
The  blast  of  the  horn  once  heard  is  never  forgotten, 
thrilling  the  blood  and  urging  one  on. 

The  M.  F.  H.  seemed  to  be  everywhere  at  once,  re 
straining  those  who  were  too  eager  and  saving  the 
hounds  often  from  being  ridden  down  by  those  new  to 
the  hunt  who  pressed  them. 

Elaine  was  one  of  the  foremost.  Her  hunter  was 
one  carefully  trained,  and  she  knew  all  the  tricks  of 
the  game. 

Somehow,  I  got  separated,  at  first,  from  the  rest  and 
followed,  until  finally  I  caught  up,  and  then  kept  be 
hind  one  of  the  best  riders. 

Del  Mar  also  got  separated,  but,  as  I  afterward 
learned,  by  intention,  for  he  deliberately  rode  out  of 
the  course  at  the  first  opportunity  he  had  and  let  Elaine 
and  the  rest  of  us  pass  without  seeing  him. 

Elaine's  blood  was  up,  but  somehow,  in  spite  of  her 
self,  she  went  astray,  for  the  hounds  had  distanced 
the  fleetest  riders  and  she,  in  an  attempt  at  a  short  cut 
over  the  country  which  she  thought  she  knew  so  well, 
went  a  mile  or  so  out  of  the  way. 

She  pulled  up  in  a  ravine  and  looked  about.  In 
tently  she  listened.  There  was  no  sign  of  the  hunt. 
She  was  hot  and  tired  and  thirsty  and,  at  a  loss  just 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  245 

how  to  join  the  field  again,  she  took  this  chance  to 
dismount  and  drink  from  a  clear  stream  fed  by  moun 
tain  springs. 

As  she  did  so,  floating  over  the  peaceful  woodland 
air  came  the  faint  strains  of  the  huntsman's  horn,  far, 
far  off.  She  looked  about,  straining  her  eyes  and  ears 
to  catch  the  direction  of  sound.  Just  then  her  h  rse 
caught  the  winding  of  the  horn.  His  ears  went  erect 
and  without  waiting  he  instantly  galloped  off,  leaving 
her.  Elaine  called  and  ran  after  him,  but  it  was  too 
late.  She  stopped  and  looked  dejectedly  as  he  disap 
peared.  Then  she  made  her  way  up  the  side  of  the 
ravine,  slowly. 

On  she  climbed  until,  to  her  surprise,  she  came  to 
the  ruins  of  an  old  hotel.  She  remembered,  as  a  child, 
when  it  had  been  famous  as  a  health  resort,  but  it  was 
all  changed  now — a  wreck.  She  looked  at  it  a  mo 
ment,  then,  as  she  had  nothing  better  to  do,  approached 
it. 

She  advanced  toward  a  window  of  the  dining-room 
and  looked  in. 


Del  Mar  waited  only  until  the  last  straggler  had 
passed.  Then  he  dashed  off  as  fast  as  his  horse  would 
carry  him  straight  toward  the  deserted  hotel  which 
served  him  as  headquarters  for  the  supplies  he  was 
accumulating.  As  he  rode  up,  one  of  his  sentries  ap 
peared,  as  if  from  nowhere,  and,  seeing  who  it  was, 
saluted. 

"  Here,  take  care  of  this  horse,"  ordered  Del  Mar, 
dismounting  and  turning  the  animal  over  to  the  man, 


246  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

who  led  him  to  the  rear  of  the  building  as  Del  Mar 
entered  the  front  door,  after  giving  a  secret  signal. 

There  were  his  men  in  goggles  and  masks  at  the 
work,  which  his  knock  had  interrupted. 

"  Give  me  a  mask  before  I  enter  the  room,"  he  or 
dered  of  the  man  who  had  answered  his  signal. 

The  man  handed  the  mask  and  goggles  to  him,  as 
well  as  a  coat,  which  he  put  on  quickly.  Then  he  en 
tered  the  room  and  looked  at  the  rapid  progress  of  the 
work. 

"  Where's  the  prisoner?  "  asked  Del  Mar  a  moment 
later,  satisfied  at  the  progress  of  his  men. 

"  In  the  attic  room,"  one  of  his  lieutenants  indicated. 

"  I'd  like  to  take  a  look  at  him,"  added  Del  Mar,  just 
about  to  turn  and  leave  the  room. 

As  he  did  so,  he  happened  to  glance  at  one  of  the 
windows.  There,  peering  through  the  broken  shutters, 
was  a  face — a  girl's  face — Elaine! 

"  Just  what  I  wanted  guarded  against,"  he  cried  an 
grily,  pointing  at  the  window.  "  Now — get  her ! " 

The  men  had  sprung  up  at  his  alarm.  They  could 
all  see  her  and  with  one  accord  dashed  for  the  door. 
Elaine  sprang  back  and  they  ran  as  they  saw  that  she 
was  warned.  In  genuine  fear  now  she  too  ran  from 
the  window.  But  it  was  too  late. 

For  just  then  the  sentry  who  had  taken  Del  Mar's 
horse  came  from  behind  the  building  cutting  off  her 
retreat.  He  seized  her  just  as  the  other  men  ran  out. 
Elaine  stared.  She  could  make  nothing  of  them.  Even 
Del  Mar,  in  his  goggles  and  breathing  mask  was  un 
recognizable. 

"  Take  her  inside,"  he  ordered  disguising  his  voice. 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  247 

Then  to  the  sentry  he  added,  "  Get  on  guard  again  and 
don't  let  any  one  through." 

Elaine  was  hustled  into  the  big  deserted  hallvray  of 
the  hotel,  just  as  the  tramp  had  been. 

"  You  may  go  back  to  work,"  Del  Mar  signed  to  the 
other  men,  who  went  on,  leaving  one  short  but  athletic 
looking  fellow  with  Del  Mar  and  Elaine. 

"Lock  her  up,  Shorty,"  ordered  Del  Mar,  "and 
bring  the  other  prisoner  to  me  down  here." 

None  too  gently  the  man  forced  Elaine  up-stairs 
ahead  of  him. 

In  the  attic,  the  tramp,  pacing  up  and  down,  heard 
footsteps  approach  on  the  stairs  and  enter  the  next 
room. 

Quickly  he  ran  to  the  doorway  and  peered  through 
the  keyhole.  There  he  could  see  Elaine  and  the  small 
man  enter.  He  locked  the  door  to  the  hall,  then  quickly 
took  a  step  toward  the  door  into  the  tramp's  room. 

There  was  just  time  enough  for  the  tramp  to  see 
his  approach.  He  ran  swiftly  and  softly  over  to  the 
further  corner  and  dropped  down  as  if  sound  asleep. 
The  key  turned  in  the  lock  and  the  small  man  entered, 
careful  to  lock  the  door  to  Elaine's  room.  He  moved 
over  to  where  the  tramp  was  feigning  sleep. 

"  Get  up,"  he  growled,  kicking  him. 

The  tramp  sat  up,  yawning  and  rubbing  his  eyes. 
"  Come  now,  be  reasonable,"  demanded  the  man. 
"  Follow  me." 

He  started  toward  the  door  into  the  hall.  He  never 
reached  it.  Scarcely  was  his  hand  on  the  knob  when 
the  tramp  seized  him  and  dragged  him  to  the  floor. 


248  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

One  hand  on  the  man's  throat  and  his  knees  on  his 
chest,  the  tramp  tore  off  the  breathing  mask  and  gog 
gles.  Already  he  had  the  man  trussed  up  and  gagged. 
Quickly  the  tramp  undressed  the  man  and  left  him  in 
his  underclothes,  still  struggling  to  get  loose,  as  he  took 
Shorty's  clothes,  including  the  strange  head-gear,  and 
unlocked  the  door  into  the  next  room  with  the  key  he 
also  took  from  him. 

Elaine  was  pacing  anxiously  up  and  down  the  little 
room  into  which  she  had  been  thrown,  greatly  fright 
ened. 

Suddenly  the  door  through  which  her  captor  had  left 
opened  hurriedly  again.  A  most  disreputable  looking 
tramp  entered  and  locked  the  door  again.  Elaine 
started  back  in  fear. 

He  motioned  to  her  to  be  quiet.  "  You'll  never  get 
out  alive/'  he  whispered,  speaking  rapidly  and  thickly, 
as  though  to  disguise  his  voice.  "  Here — take  these 
clothes.  Do  just  as  I  say.  Put  them  on.  Put  on  the 
mask  and  goggles.  Cover  up  your  hair.  It  is  your 
only  chance." 

He  laid  the  clothes  down  and  went  out  into  the  hall 
way.  Outside  he  listened  carefully  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs  and  looked  about  expecting  momentarily  to  be 
discovered. 

Elaine  understood  only  that  suddenly  a  friend  in 
need  had  appeared.  She  changed  her  clothes  quickly, 
rinding  fortunately  that  they  fitted  her  pretty  well.  By 
pulling  the  hat  over  her  hair  and  the  goggles  over  her 
eyes  and  tying  on  the  breathing  mask,  she  made  a  very 
presentable  man. 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  249 

Cautiously  she  pushed  open  the  door  into  the  hall 
way.  There  was  the  tramp.  "  What  shall  I  do  ?  "  she 
asked. 

"  Don't  talk,"  he  whispered  close  to  her  ear.  "  Go 
out — and  if  you  meet  any  one,  just  salute  and  walk 
past." 

"  Yes — yes,  I  understand,"  she  nodded  back,  "  and — 
thank  you." 

He  gave  her  no  time  to  say  more,  even  if  it  had 
been  safe,  but  turned  and  locked  the  door  of  her 
room. 

Trying  to  keep  the  old  stairway  from  creaking  and 
betraying  her,  she  went  down.  She  managed  to  reach 
the  lower  hallway  without  seeing  anybody  or  being  dis 
covered.  Quietly  she  went  to  the  door  and  out.  She 
had  not  gone  far  when  she  met  an  armed  man,  the 
sentry,  who  had  been  concealed  in  the  shrubbery. 

"  Who  goes  there  ?  "  he  challenged. 

Elaine  did  not  betray  herself  by  speaking,  but  merely 
saluted  and  passed  on  as  fast  as  she  could  without  ex 
citing  further  suspicion.  Nonplused,  the  man  turned 
and  watched  her  curiously  as  she  moved  away  down 
the  path. 

"Where's  he  going?"  the  sentry  muttered,  still 
staring. 

Elaine  in  her  eagerness  was  not  looking  as  carefully 
where  she  was  going  as  she  was  thinking  about  getting 
away  in  safety.  Suddenly  an  overhanging  branch  of 
a  tree  caught  her  hat  and  before  she  knew  it  pulled  it 
off  her  head.  There  was  no  concealing  her  golden  hair 
now. 

"  Stop !  "  shouted  the  sentry. 


250          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Elaine  did  not  pause,  but  dived  into  the  bushes  on 
the  side  of  the  path,  just  as  the  man  fired  and  ran  for 
ward,  still  shouting  for  her  to  halt.  She  ran  as  fast  as 
she  could,  pulling  off  the  goggles  and  mask  and  look 
ing  back  now  and  then  in  terror  at  her  pursuer  who  was 
rapidly  gaining  on  her. 

Before  she  could  catch  herself  she  missed  her  foot 
ing  and  slipped  over  the  edge  of  a  gorge.  Down  she 
went,  with  a  rush.  It  was  unfortunate,  dangerous,  but, 
after  all,  it  was  the  only  thing  that  saved  her,  at  least 
for  the  time.  Half  falling,  half  sliding,  scratching  her 
self  and  tearing  her  clothes,  she  descended. 

The  sentry  checked  himself  just  in  time  at  the  top  of 
the  gorge  and  leaned  as  far  over  the  edge  as  he  dared. 
He  raised  his  gun  again  and  fired.  But  Elaine's  course 
was  so  hidden  by  the  trees  and  so  zigzag  that  he  missed 
again.  A  moment  he  hesitated,  then  started  and 
climbed  down  after  her  as  fast  as  he  could. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  hill  she  picked  herself  up  and 
dashed  again  into  the  woods,  the  sentry  still  after  her 
and  gaining  again. 

At  the  same  time,  we  who  were  still  in  the  chase  had 
circled  about  the  country  until  we  were  very  near 
where  we  started.  Following  the  dogs  over  a  rail 
fence,  I  drew  up  suddenly,  hearing  a  scream. 

There  was  Elaine,  on  foot,  running  as  if  her  life  de 
pended  on  it.  I  needed  no  second  glance.  Behind  her 
was  a  man  with  a  rifle,  almost  overtaking  her. 

As  luck  would  have  it,  the  momentum  of  my  horse 
carried  me  right  at  them.  Careful  to  avoid  Elaine,  I 
rode  square  at  the  man,  striking  at  him  viciously  with 
my  riding  crop  before  he  knew  what  had  struck  him. 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  251 

The  fellow  dropped,  stunned.  I  leaped  from  my 
horse  and  ran  to  her,  just  as  the  rest  of  the  hunt  came 
up. 

Eagerly  questioning  us,  they  gathered  about. 

Having  waited  until  he  was  sure  that  Elaine  had  got 
away  safely,  the  old  tramp  slowly  and  carefully  fol 
lowed  down  the  stairs  of  the  ruined  hotel. 

As  he  went  down,  he  heard  a  shot  from  the  woods. 
Could  it  be  one  of  the  sentries?  He  looked  about 
keenly,  hesitating  just  what  to  do. 

In  an  instant,  down  below,  he  heard  the  scurry  of 
footsteps  from  the  improvised  laboratory  and  shouts. 
He  turned  and  stealthily  ran  up-stairs,  just  as  the  door 
opened. 

The  tramp  had  not  been  the  only  one  who  had  been 
alarmed  by  the  shot  of  the  sentry. 

Del  Mar  was  talking  again  to  the  men  when  it  rang 
out.  "  What's  that  ?  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Another  in 
truder?" 

The  men  stared  at  him  blankly,  while  Del  Mar 
dashed  for  the  door,  followed  by  them  all.  In  the 
hall  he  issued  his  orders  quickly. 

"  Here,  you  fellows,"  he  called  dividing  the  men, 
"  get  outside  and  see  what  is  doing.  You  other  men 
follow  me.  I  want  you  to  see  if  everything's  all  right 
up  above." 

Meanwhile  the  tramp  had  gained  the  upper  hallway 
and  dashed  past  the  room  which  he  occupied.  Out 
side,  in  the  hall,  Del  Mar  and  his  men  rushed  up  to 
the  door  of  the  room  in  which  Elaine  had  been  thrown. 
It  was  locked  and  they  broke  in.  She  was  gone ! 


252  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

On  into  the  next  room  they  dashed,  bearing  down 
this  door  also.  There  was  Shorty,  trussed  up  in  his 
underclothes.  They  hastened  to  release  him. 

"Where  are  they — where's  the  tramp?"  demanded 
Del  Mar  angrily. 

"  I  think  I  heard  some  one  on  the  roof,"  replied 
Shorty  weakly. 

He  was  right.  The  tramp  had  managed  to  get 
through  a  scuttle  on  the  roof.  Then  he  climbed  down 
to  the  edge  and  began  to  let  himself  hand  over  hand 
down  the  lightning  rod. 

Reaching  the  ground  safely,  he  scurried  about 
to  the  back  of  the  building.  There,  tied,  was  the  horse 
which  Del  Mar  had  ridden  to  the  hunt.  He  untied  it 
mounted  and  dashed  off  down  the  path  through  the 
woods,  taking  the  shortest  cut  in  the  direction  of  Fort 
Dale. 

Dusty  and  flecked  with  foam,  the  tramp  and  his 
mount,  a  strange  combination,  were  instantly  chal 
lenged  by  the  sentry  at  the  Fort. 

"  I  must  see  Lieutenant  Woodward  immediately," 
urged  the  tramp. 

A  heated  argument  followed  until  finally  a  corporal 
of  the  guards  was  called  and  led  off  the  tramp  toward 
the  headquarters. 

It  was  only  a  few  minutes  before  Woodward  was 
convinced  of  the  identity  of  the  tramp  with  his  friend, 
Professor  Arnold.  At  the  head  of  a  squad  of  cavalry, 
Woodward  and  the  tramp  dashed  off. 

Already  on  the  qui  vvue,  Elaine  heard  the  sound  of 
hoof-beats  long  before  the  rest  of  us  crowded  around 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  253 

her.  For  the  moment  we  all  stood  ready  to  repel  an 
attack  from  any  quarter. 

But  it  was  not  meant  for  us.  It  was  Woodward  at 
the  head  of  a  score  or  so  of  cavalrymen.  With  him 
rode  a  tramp  on  a  horse  which  was  strangely  familiar 
to  me. 

"  Oh,"  cried  Elaine,  "  there's  the  man  who  saved 
me!" 

As  they  passed,  the  tramp  paused  a  moment  and 
looked  at  us  sharply.  Although  he  carefully  avoided 
Elaine's  eyes,  I  fancied  that  only  when  he  saw  that 
she  was  safe  was  he  satisfied  to  gallop  off  and  rejoin 
the  cavalry. 

Around  the  old  hotel,  in  every  direction,  Del  Mar's 
men  were  searching  for  the  tramp  and  Elaine,  while 
in  the  hotel  another  search  was  in  progress. 

"  Have  you  discovered  anything?"  asked  Del  Mar, 
entering. 

"  No,  sir,"  they  reported. 

"Confound  it!"  swore  Del  Mar,  going  up-stairs 
again. 

Here  also  were  men  searching.  "  Find  anything?  " 
he  asked  briefly. 

"  No  luck,"  returned  one. 

Del  Mar  went  on  up  to  the  top  floor  and  out  through 
the  open  scuttle  to  the  roof.  "  That's  how  he  got  away, 
all  right,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  then  looking  up  he 
exclaimed  under  his  breath,  as  his  eye  caught  some 
thing  far  off,  "  The  deuce— what's  that?  " 

Leaning  down  to  the  scuttle,  he  called,  "  Jenkins — - 
my  field-classes — quick !  " 


254  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

One  of  his  men  handed  them  to  him  and  he  ad 
justed  them,  gazing  off  intently.  There  he  could  see 
what  looked  like  a  squad  of  cavalry  galloping  along 
headed  by  an  officer  and  a  rough  looking  individual. 

"  Come — we  must  get  ready  for  an  attack!"  he 
shouted  diving  down  the  scuttle  again. 

In  the  laboratory  dining-room,  his  men,  recalled, 
hastily  took  his  orders.  Each  of  them  seized  one  of 
the  huge  black  rubber  newly  completed  gas  bombs  and 
ran  out,  making  for  a  grove  near-by. 

Quickly  as  Del  Mar  had  acted,  it  was  not  done  so 
fast  but  that  the  troop  of  cavalry  as  they  pulled  up  on 
the  top  of  a  hill  and  followed  the  directing  finger  of  the 
tramp  could  see  men  running  to  the  cover  of  the  grove. 

"  Forward !  "  shouted  Woodward. 

As  if  all  were  one  machine,  the  men  and  horses  shot 
ahead,  until  they  came  to  the  grove  about  the  old  hotel. 
There  they  dismounted  and  spread  out  in  a  semi-circu 
lar  order,  advancing  on  the  grove.  As  they  did  so, 
shots  rang  out  from  behind  the  trees.  Del  Mar's  men, 
from  the  shelter  were  firing  at  them.  But  it  seemed 
hopeless  for  the  fugitives. 

"  Ready !  "  ordered  Del  Mar  as  the  cavalrymen  ad 
vanced,  relentless. 

Each  of  his  men  picked  up  one  of  the  big  black  ga$ 
bombs  and  held  it  high  up  over  his  head. 

"  Come  on !  "  urged  Woodward. 

His  men  broke  into  a  charge  on  the  grove. 

"Throw  them!"  ordered  Del  Mar. 

As  far  as  he  could  hurl  it,  each  of  the  men  sent  one 
oJ:  the  black  globes  hurtling  through  the  air.  They 
fell  almost  simultaneously,  a  long  line  of  them,  each 


THE  DEATH  CLOUD  255 

breaking  into  a  thousand  bits.  Instantly  dense,  green 
ish-yellow  fumes  seemed  to  pour  forth,  enveloping 
everything.  The  wind  which  Del  Mar  had  carefully 
noted  when  he  chose  the  position  in  the  grove,  was 
blowing  from  his  men  toward  the  only  position  from 
which  an  attack  could  be  made  successfully. 

Against  Woodward's  men  as  they  charged,  it  seemed 
as  if  a  tremendous,  slow-moving  wall  of  vapor  were 
advancing  from  the  trees.  It  was  only  a  moment  be 
fore  it  completely  wrapped  them  in  its  stifling,  choking, 
suffocating  embrace.  Some  fell,  overcome.  Others 
tried  to  run,  clutching  frantically  at  their  throats  and 
rubbing  their  eyes. 

"  Get  back — quick — till  it  rolls  over,"  choked  Wood 
ward. 

Those  who  were  able  to  do  so,  picked  up  their  stupe 
fied  comrades  and  retreated,  as  best  they  could,  stum 
bling  blindly  back  from  the  fearful  death  cloud  of 
chlorine. 

Meantime,  under  cover  of  this  weird  defence,  Dei 
Mar  and  his  men,  their  own  faces  covered  and  unrecog 
nizable  in  their  breathing  masks  and  goggles,  dashed 
to  one  side,  with  a  shout  and  disappeared  walking  and 
running  behind  and  even  through  the  safety  of  their 
impregnable  gas  barrier. 

More  slowly  we  of  the  hunt  had  followed  Wood 
ward's  cavalry  until,  some  distance  off,  we  stood,  wit 
nessing  and  wondering  at  the  attack.  To  our  utter 
amazement  we  saw  them  carrying  off  their  wounded 
and  stupefied  men.  We  hurried  forward  and  gathered 
about,  offering  whatever  assistance  we  could  to  resus 
citate  them. 


256  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

As  Elaine  and  I  helped,  we  saw  the  unkempt  figure 
of  the  tramp  borne  in  and  laid  down.  He  was  not 
completely  overcome,  having  had  presence  of  mind  to 
tie  a  handkerchief  over  his  nose  and  mouth. 

Elaine  hurried  toward  him  with  an  exclamation  of 
sympathy.  Just  recovering  full  consciousness,  he 
heard  her. 

With  the  greatest  difficulty,  he  seemed  to  summon 
some  reserve  force  not  yet  used.  He  struggled  to  his 
feet  and  staggered  off,  as  though  he  would  escape  us. 

"  What  a  strange  old  codger,"  mused  Elaine,  look 
ing  from  me  at  the  retreating  figure.  "  He  saved  my 
life — yet  he  won't  even  let  me  thank  him — or  help 
him!" 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN 

"  I  DON'T  understand  it,"  remarked  Elaine  one  day 
as,  with  Aunt  Josephine  and  myself,  she  was  discus 
sing  the  strange  events  that  had  occurred  since  the  dis 
appearance  of  Kennedy,  "  but,  somehow,  it  is  as  if  a 
strange  Providence  seems  to  be  watching  over  us." 

"  Nor  do  I,"  I  agreed.  "  It  does  seem  that,  although 
we  do  not  see  it,  a  mysterious  power  for  good  is  about 
us.  It's  uncanny." 

"  A  package  for  you,  Miss  Dodge,"  announced 
Marie,  coming  in  with  a  small  parcel  which  had  been 
delivered  by  a  messenger  who  did  not  wait  for  an  an 
swer. 

Elaine  took  it,  looked  at  it,  turned  it  over,  and  then 
looked  at  the  written  address  again. 

"  It's  not  the  handwriting  of  any  one  which  I  recog 
nize,"  she  mused.  "  Now,  I  suppose  I  ought  to  be 
suspicious  of  it.  Yet,  I'm  going  to  open  it." 

She  did  so.  Inside,  the  pap^i  wrapping  covered  a 
pasteboard  box.  She  opened  that.  There  lay  a  re 
volver,  which  she  picked  up  and  turned  over.  It  was 
a  curious  looking  weapon. 

"  I  never  knew  so  much  about  firearms  as  I  have 
learned  in  the  past  few  weeks,"  remarked  Elaine. 

257 


17 


258  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  But  what  do  you  suppose  this  is — and  who  sent  it  to 
me — and  why?  " 

She  held  the  gun  up.  From  the  barrel  stuck  out  a 
little  rolled-up  piece  of  paper.  "  See,"  she  cried,  read 
ing  and  handing  the  paper  to  me,  "  there  it  is  again — 
that  mysterious  power." 

Aunt  Josephine  and  I  read  the  note : 

DEAR  Miss  DODGE  : 

This  weapon  shoots  exactly  into  the  center  of  the 
light  disc.  Keep  it  by  you. — A  FRIEND. 

"  Let  me  see  it,"  I  asked,  taking  the  gun.  Sure 
enough,  along  the  barfel  was  a  peculiar  tube.  "  A 
searchlight  gun,"  I  exclaimed,  puzzled,  though  still 
my  suspicions  were  not  entirely  at  rest.  "  Suppose  it's 
sighted  wrong,"  I  c  uld  not  help  considering.  "  It 
might  be  a  plant  to  snve  some  one  from  being  shot." 

"That's  easily  settled,"  returned  Elaine.  "  Let's 
try  it." 

"  Oh,  mercy  no, — not  here,"  remonstrated  Aunt 
Josephine. 

"Why  not — down  cellar?"  persisted  Elaine.  "It 
can't  hurt  anything  there." 

"  I  think  it  would  be  a  good  plan,"  I  agreed,  "  just 
to  make  sure  that  it  is  all  right.'' 

Acco-dingly  we  three  went  down  cellar.  There, 
Elaine  found  the  light  switch  and  turned  it.  Eagerly 
I  hunted  about  for  ^  mark.  There,  in  some  rubbish 
that  had  not  yet  been  carted  away,  was  c.  small  china 
plate.  I  set  it  up  on  a  sma!l  shelf  across  the  room  and 
took  the  gun.  But  Elaine  playfully  wrenched  it  from 
my  hand. 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  259 

"  No,"  she  insisted,  "  it  was  sent  to  me.  Let  me  try 
it  first" 

Reluctantly  I  consented. 

"  Switch  off  the  light,  Walter,  please,"  she  directed, 
standing  a  few  paces  from  the  plate. 

I  did  so.  In  the  darkness  Elaine  pointed  the  gun 
and  pulled  a  little  ratchet.  Instantly  a  spot  of  light 
showed  on  the  wall.  She  moved  the  revolver  and  the 
spot  of  light  moved  with  it.  As  it  rested  on  a  little 
decorative  figure  in  the  center  of  the  plate,  she  pulled 
the  trigger.  The  gun  exploded  with  a  report,  deafen 
ing,  in  the  confined  cellar. 

I  switched  on  the  light  and  we  ran  forward.  There 
was  the  plate — smashed  into  a  hundred  bits.  The  bul 
let  had  struck  exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  little  bull's- 
eye  of  light. 

"  Splendid,"  cried  Elaine  enthusiastically,  as  we 
looked  at  each  other  in  surprise. 

Though  none  of  us  guessed  it,  half  an  hour  before, 
in  the  seclusion  of  his  yacht,  Woodward's  friend,  Pro 
fessor  Arnold,  had  been  standing  with  the  long  bar 
relled  gun  in  his  hand,  adjusting  the  tube  which  ran 
beneath  the  barrel. 

In  one  hand  he  held  the  gun;  in  the  other  was  a 
piece  of  paper.  As  he  brought  the  paper  before  the 
muzzle  and  pressed  a  ratchet  by  gripping  the  revolver 
handle,  a  distinct  light  appeared  on  the  paper,  thrown 
out  from  the  tube  under  the  barrel. 

Having  adjusted  the  tube  and  sighted  it,  Arnold 
wrote  a  hasty  note  on  another  piece  of  paper  and  in 
serted  it  into  the  barrel  of  the  gun,  with  the  end  stick 
ing  out  just  a  bit.  Then  he  wrapped  the  whole  thing 


260  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

up  in  a  box,  rang  a  bell,  and  handed  the  package  to 
a  servant  with  explicit  instructions  as  to  its  delivery 
to  the  right  person  and  only  to  that  person. 

Down  in  the  submarine  harbor,  Del  Mar  was  in  con 
ference  with  his  board  of  strategy  and  advice,  laying 
the  plan  for  the  attack  on  America. 

"  Ever  since  we  have  been  at  work,"  he  remarked, 
"  Elaine  Dodge  has  been  busy  hindering  and  frustrat 
ing  us.  That  girl  must  go !  " 

Before  him,  on  the  table,  he  placed  a  square  package. 
"It  must  stop,"  he  added  ominously,  tapping  the 
package. 

"  But  how?  "  asked  one  of  the  men.  "  We've  done 
our  best." 

"  This  is  a  bomb,"  replied  Del  Mar,  continuing  t« 
tap  the  package.  "  When  our  man — let  me  see,  X  had 
better  do  it, — arrives,  have  him  look  in  the  secret  cav 
ern  by  the  landing-place.  There  I  will  leave  it.  I 
want  him  to  put  it  in  her  house  to-night." 

He  handed  the  bomb  to  one  of  his  men  who  took  it 
gingerly.  Then  with  a  few  more  words  of  admonition, 
he  took  up  his  diving  helmet  and  left  the  hadquarters, 
followed  by  the  man. 

Several  minutes  later,  Del  Mar,  alone,  emerged 
from  the  water  just  outside  the  submarine  harbor  and 
took  off  his  helmet. 

He  made  his  way  over  the  rocks,  carrying  the  bomb, 
until  he  came  to  a  little  fissure  in  the  rocks,  like  a  cav 
ern.  There  he  hid  the  bomb  carefully.  Still  carrying 
the  helmet,  he  hurried  along  until  he  came  to  the  cave 
entrance  that  led  to  the  secret  passage  to  the  panel  in 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  261 

his  bungalow  library.  Up  through  the  secret  passage 
he  went,  reaching  the  panel  and  opening  it  by  a  spring. 
In  the  library  Del  Mar  changed  his  wet  clothes  and 
hid  them,  then  set  to  work  on  an  accumulation  of  pa 
pers  on  his  desk. 

That  afternoon,  Elaine  decided  to  go  for  a  little  ride 
through  the  country  in  her  runabout. 

As  she  started  to  leave  her  room,  dressed  for  the 
trip,  it  was  as  though  a  premonition  of  danger  came  to 
her.  She  paused,  then  turned  back  and  took  from  the 
drawer  the  searchlight  gun  which  had  been  sent  to  her. 
She  slipped  it  into  the  pocket  of  her  skirt  and  went  out. 

Off  she  drove  at  a  fast  clip,  thoroughly  enjoying  the 
ride  until,  near  a  bend  in  the  road,  as  it  swept  down 
toward  the  shore,  she  stopped  and  got  out,  attracted 
by  some  wild  flowers.  They  grew  in  such  profusion 
that  it  seemed  no  time  before  she  had  a  bunch  of  them. 
On  she  wandered,  down  to  the  rocks,  watching  the 
restless  waters  of  the  Sound.  Finally  she  found  her 
self  walking  alone  along  the  shore,  one  arm  full  of 
flowers,  while  with  her  free  hand  she  amused  herself 
by  skimming  flat  stones  over  the  water. 

As  she  turned  to  pick  up  one,  her  eye  caught  some 
thing  in  the  rocks  and  she  stared  at  it.  There  in  a 
crevice,  as  though  it  had  been  hidden,  was  a  strange 
square  package.  She  reached  down  and  picked  it  up. 
What  could  it  be  ? 

While  she  was  examining  it,  back  of  her,  another 
of  those  strange  be-helmeted  figures  came  up  out  of  the 
water.  It  watched  her  for  an  instant,  then  sank  back 
into  the  water  again. 


262  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Elaine,  holding  the  package  in  her  hand,  walked  up 
the  shore,  oblivious  to  the  strange  eye  that  had  been 
fixed  on  her. 

"  I  must  show  this  to  Lieutenant  Woodward,"  she 
said  to  herself. 

In  the  car  she  placed  the  package,  then  jumped  in 
herself  carefully  and  started  off. 

A  moment  after  she  had  gone,  the  diver  reappeared, 
looking  about  cautiously.  This  time  the  coast  was 
clear  and  he  came  all  the  way  out,  taking  off  his  hel 
met  and  placed  it  in  the  secret  hiding-place  which  Del 
Mar  and  his  men  used.  Then,  with  another  glance, 
now  of  anger,  in  the  direction  of  Elaine,  he  hurried  up 
the  shore. 

Meanwhile,  as  fast  as  her  light  runabout  would  carry 
her,  Elaine  whizzed  over  to  Fort  Dale. 

As  she  entered  the  grounds,  the  sentry  saluted  her, 
though  that  part  of  the  formalities  of  admission  was 
purely  perfunctory,  for  every  one  at  the  Fort  knew 
her  nuw. 

"  Is  Lieutenant  Woodward  in?  "  she  inquired. 

"  Yes  ma'am,"  returned  the  sentry.  "  I  will  send 
for  him." 

A  corporal  appeared  and  took  a  message  for  her  to 
Woodward.  It  was  only  a  few  minutes  before  Lieu 
tenant  Woodward  himself  appeared. 

"  What  is  the  trouble,  Miss  Dodge  ?  "  he  asked  so 
licitously,  noting  the  look  on  her  face. 

"  I  don't  know  what  it  is,"  she  replied  dubiously. 
"  I've  found  something  among  the  rocks.  Perhaps  it 
is  a  bomb." 

Woodward    looked    at   the   package,    studying    it 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  263 

"  Professor  Arnold  is  investigating  this  affair  for  us," 
he  remarked.  "  Perhaps  you'd  better  take  the  package 
to  him  on  his  yacht.  I'm  sorry  I  can't  go  with  you,  but 
just  now  I'm  on  duty." 

"  That's  a  good  idea,"  she  agreed.  "  Only  I'm  sorry 
you  can't  go  along  with  me." 

She  started  up  the  car  and  drove  off  as  Woodward 
turned  back  to  the  Fort  with  a  lingering  look. 

Del  Mar  was  hard  at  work  in  the  library  when,  sud 
denly,  he  heard  a  sound  at  the  panel.  He  reached  over 
and  pressed  a  button  on  his  desk,  and  the  panel  opened. 
Through  it  came  the  diver  still  wearing  his  dripping 
suit  and  carrying  the  weird  helmet  under  his  arm. 

"  That  Dodge  girl  has  crossed  us  again ! "  he  ex 
claimed  excitedly. 

"  How?  "  demanded  Del  Mar,  with  an  oath. 

"  I  saw  her  on  the  rocks  just  now.  She  happened  to 
stumble  on  the  bomb  which  you  left  there  to  be  placed." 

"  And  then  ?  "  demanded  Del  Mar. 

"  She  took  it  with  her  in  her  car." 

"  The  deuce !  "  ejaculated  the  foreign  agent,  furi 
ously.  "  You  must  get  the  men  out  and  hunt  the  coun 
try  thoroughly.  She  must  not  escape  now  at  any  cost." 

The  diving  man  dove  back  into  the  panel  to  escape 
Del  Mar's  wrath,  while  Del  Mar  hurried  out,  leaving 
his  valet  in  the  library. 

Quickly,  Del  Mar  made  his  way  to  a  secret  hiding- 
place  in  the  hills  back  of  the  bay.  There  he  found  his 
picked  band  of  men  armed  with  rifles. 

As  briefly  as  he  could  he  told  them  of  what  had  hap 
pened.  "  We  must  get  her  this  time — dead  or  alive," 


264  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

he  ordered.  "  Now  scatter  about  the  country.  Keep 
in  touch  with  each  other  and  when  you  find  her,  close 
in  on  her  at  any  cost." 

The  men  saluted  and  left  in  various  directions  to 
scour  the  country.  Del  Mar  himself  picked  up  a  rifle 
and  followed  shortly,  passing  down  a  secret  trail  to 
ihe  road  where  he  had  a  car  with  a  chauffeur  waiting. 
Still  carrying  the  rifle,  he  climbed  in  and  the  man  shot 
the  car  along  down  the  road. 

On  the  top  of  a  hill  one  of  the  men  was  posted  as  a 
sort  of  lookout.  Gazing  over  the  country  carefully, 
his  eye  was  finally  arrested  by  something  at  which 
he  stared  eagerly.  Far  away,  on  the  road,  he  could 
see  a  car  in  which  was  a  girl,  alone.  Waving  in  the 
breeze  was  a  red  feather  in  her  hat.  He  looked  more 
sharply.  It  was  Elaine  Dodge. 

The  man  turned  and  waved  a  signal  with  a  handker 
chief  to  another  man  far  off.  Down  the  valley  another 
of  Del  Mar's  men  was  waiting  and  watching.  As  soon 
as  he  saw  the  signal,  he  waved  back  and  ran  along  the 
road. 

As  Del  Mar  whizzed"  along,  he  could  see  one  of  his 
men  approaching  over  the  road,  waving  to  him. 
"  Stop!  "  he  ordered  his  driver. 

The  man  hurried  forward.  "  I've  got  the  signal," 
he  panted.  "  They  have  seen  her  car  over  the  hill." 

"  Good,"  exclaimed  Del  Mar,  pulling  a  black  silk 
mask  over  his  eyes.  "  Now,  get  off  quickly.  We've 
got  to  catch  her." 

They  sped  away  again  in  a  cloud  of  dust. 

But  even  while  Del  Mar  was  speeding  toward  her, 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  265 

another  of  his  men  had  discovered  her  presence,  so 
vigilant  were  they. 

He  had  been  keeping  a  sharp  watch  on  the  road, 
when  he  was  suddenly  all  attention.  He  saw  a  car, 
through  the  foliage.  Quickly,  his  rifle  went  to  his 
shoulder.  Through  the  sight  he  could  just  cover 
Elaine's  head,  for  her  hat,  with  a  bright  red  feather  in 
it,  showed  plainly  just  over  the  bushes. 

He  aimed  carefully  and  fired. 

I  had  been  out  for  a  tramp  over  the  hills  with  no 
destination  in  particular.  As  I  swung  along  the  road, 
I  heard  the  throbbing  of  a  car  coming  up  the  hill,  the 
cut-out  open.  I  turned,  for  cars  make  walking  on  coun 
try  roads  somewhat  hazardous  nowadays. 

As  I  did  so,  some  one  in  the  car  waved  to  me.  I 
looked  again.  It  was  Elaine. 

"Where  are  you  going?  "  she  called. 

"Where  are  you  going?"  I  returned,  laughing. 

"  I've  just  had  a  very  queer  experience — found 
something  down  on  the  rocks,"  she  replied  seriously, 
pointing  to  the  square  package  on  the  floor  of  the  car. 
"  I  took  it  to  Lieutenant  Woodward  and  he  advised 
me  to  take  it  to  Professor  Arnold  on  his  yacht.  I  think 
it  is  a  bomb.  I  wish  you'd  go  with  me." 

Before  I  could  answer,  up  the  hill  a  rifle  shot  cracked. 
There  was  a  whirr  in  the  air  and  a  bullet  sang  past  us, 
cutting  the  red  feather  off  Elaine's  hat. 

"  Duck !  "  I  cried,  jumping  into  the  car,  "  And  drive 
like  the  dickens!  " 

She  turned  and  we  fairly  ricocheted  down  that  road 
back  again. 


266  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Behind  us,  a  man,  a  stranger  whom  we  did  not  pause 
to  observe,  rushed  from  the  bushes  and  fired  after  us 
again. 

Suddenly  another  rifle  shot  cracked.  It  was  from 
another  car  that  had  stealthily  sneaked  up  on  us — 
coming  fast,  recklessly. 

"There's  her  car,"  pointed  one  of  the  occupants  to 
a  man  who  was  masked  in  black. 

"  Yes,"  he  nodded.     "  Give  her  a  little  more  gas!  " 

"  Crouch  down,"  I  muttered,  "  as  low  as  you  can." 

We  did  so,  racing  for  life,  the  more  powerful  motor 
behind  us  overhauling  us  every  instant. 

We  were  coming  to  a  very  narrow  part  of  the  road 
where  it  turned,  on  one  side  a  sheer  hill,  on  the  other 
a  stream  several  feet  down. 

If  we  had  an  accident,  I  thought,  it  might  be  ticklish 
for  us,  supposing  the  square  package  really  to  be  a 
bomb.  What  if  it  should  go  off?  The  idea  suggested 
another,  instantly.  The  car  behind  was  only  a  few 
feet  off. 

As  we  reached  the  narrow  road  by  the  stream,  I 
rose  up.  As  far  as  I  could,  back  of  me,  I  hurled  the 
infernal  machine.  It  fell.  We  received  a  shower  of 
dirt  and  small  stones,  but  the  cover  of  the  car  pro 
tected  us.  Where  the  bomb  landed,  however,  it  cut  a 
deep  hole  in  the  roadway. 

On  came  Del  Mar's  car,  the  driver  frantically  tug 
ging  at  the  emergency  brake.  But  it  was  of  no  use. 
There  was  not  room  to  turn  aside.  The  car  crashed 
into  the  hole,  like  a  gigantic  plow. 

It  took  one  header  over  the  side  of  the  road  and 
down  several  feet  into  the  stream,  just  as  the  masked 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  267 

man  and  the  driver  jumped  far  ahead  into  the  water. 

Safe  now  in  our  car  which  was  slackening  its  terrific 
speed,  I  looked  back.  "  They've  been  thrown !  "  I 
cried.  "  We're  all  right." 

On  the  edge  of  the  water,  just  covered  by  some 
wreckage,  the  chauffeur  lay  motionless.  The  masked 
man  crawled  from  under  the  wreckage  and  looked  at 
him  a  moment. 

"  Dead !  "  he  exclaimed,  still  mechanically  gripping 
a  rifle  in  his  hand. 

Angrily  he  raised  it  at  us  and  fired. 

A  moment  later,  some  other  men  gathered  from  all 
directions  about  him,  each  armed. 

"  Don't  mind  the  wreck,"  he  cried,  exasperated. 
"Fire!" 

A  volley  was  delivered  at  us.  But  the  distance  was 
now  apparently  too  great. 

We  were  just  congratulating  ourselves  on  our  es 
cape,  when  a  stray  shot  whizzed  past,  striking  a  piece 
directly  out  of  the  head  of  the  steering-post,  almost 
under  Elaine's  hands. 

Naturally  she  lost  control,  though  fortunately  we 
were  not  going  so  fast  now.  Crazily,  our  car  swerved 
from  side  to  side  of  the  road,  as  she  vainly  tried  to  con 
trol  both  its  speed  and  direction.  On  the  very  edge  of 
the  ditch,  however,  it  stopped. 

We  looked  back.  There  we  could  see  a  group  of 
men  who  seemed  to  spring  out  of  the  woods,  as  if 
from  nowhere,  at  the  sound  of  the  shots.  A  shout 
went  up  at  the  sight  of  the  bullet  taking  effect,  and  they 
ran  forward  at  us. 

One  of  their  number,  I  could  see,  masked,  who  had 


268  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

been  in  the  wrecked  car,  stumbled  forward  weakly, 
until  finally  he  sank  down. 

A  couple  of  the  others  ran  to  him.  "  Go  on,"  he 
must  have  urged  vehemently.  "  One  of  you  is  enough 
to  stay  with  me.  I'm  going  back  to  the  submarine  har 
bor.  The  rest — go  on — report  to  me  there." 

As  the  rest  ran  toward  us,  there  was  nothing  for  us 
to  do  but  to  abandon  the  car  ourselves  and  run  for  it. 
We  left  the  road  and  struck  into  the  trackless  woods, 
followed  closely  now  by  two  of  the  men  who  had  out 
distanced  the  rest.  Through  the  woods  we  fled,  taking 
advantage  of  such  shelter  as  we  could  find. 

"  Look,  here's  a  cave,"  cried  Elaine,  as  we  plunged, 
exhausted  and  about  ready  to  drop,  down  into  a  ravine. 

We  hurried  in  and  the  bushes  swung  over  the  cave 
entrance.  Inside  we  stopped  short  and  gazed  about. 
It  was  dark  and  gloomy.  We  looked  back.  There  was 
no  hope  there.  They  had  been  overtaking  us.  On 
down  a  passageway,  we  went. 

The  two  men  who  were  pursuing  us  plunged  down 
the  ravine  also.  As  ill-luck  would  have  it,  they  saw 
the  cave  entrance  and  dashed  in,  then  halted.  Crouch 
ing  in  the  shadow  we  could  see  their  figures  silhoutted 
in  the  dim  light  of  the  entrance  of  the  cavern.  One 
stopped  at  the  entrance  while  the  other  advanced.  He 
was  a  big  fellow  and  powerfully  built  and  the  other 
fellow  was  equally  burly.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  fight 
to  the  last  though  I  knew  it  was  hopeless.  It  was  dark. 
I  could  not  even  see  the  man  advancing  now. 

Quickly  Elaine  reached  into  her  pocket  and  drew 
out  something. 

"  Here,  Walter,  take  this,"  she  cried. 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  269 

I  seized  the  object.     It  was  the  searchlight  gun. 

Hastily  I  aimed  it,  the  spot  of  light  glowing  brightly. 
Indeed,  I  doubt  whether  I  could  have  shot  very  ac 
curately  otherwise.  As  the  man  approached  cautiously 
down  the  passageway  the  bright  disc  of  light  danced 
about  until  finally  it  fell  full  on  his  breast.  I  fired. 
The  man  fell  forward  instantly. 

Again  I  fired,  this  time  at  the  man  in  the  cave  en 
trance.  He  jumped  back,  dropping  his  gun  which  ex 
ploded  harmlessly.  His  hand  was  wounded.  Quickly 
he  drew  back  and  disappeared  among  the  trees. 

We  waited  in  tense  silence,  and  then  cautiously 
looked  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  No  one  seemed 
to  be  about. 

"  Come — let's  make  a  dash  for  it,"  urged  Elaine. 

We  ran  out  and  hurried  on  down  the  ravine,  ap 
parently  not  followed. 

Back  among  the  trees,  however,  the  man  had  picked 
up  a  rifle  which  he  had  hidden.  While  he  was  bind 
ing  up  his  hand  with  a  handkerchief,  he  saw  us.  Pain 
fully  he  tried  to  aim  his  gun.  But  it  was  too  heavy  for 
his  weakened  arm  and  the  pain  was  too  great.  He  had 
to  lower  it.  With  a  muttered  imprecation,  he  fol 
lowed  us  at  a  distance. 

Evidently,  to  us,  we  had  eluded  the  pursuers,  for  no 
one  seemed  now  to  be  following,  at  least  as  far  as  we 
could  determine.  We  kept  on,  however,  until  we  came 
to  the  water's  edge.  There,  down  the  bay,  we  could 
see  Professor  Arnold's  yacht. 

"  Let  us  see  Professor  Arnold,  anyhow,"  said  Elaine, 
leading  the  way  along  the  shore. 

We  came  at  last,  without  being  molested,  to  a  little 


270  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

dock.  A  sailor  was  standing  beside  it  and  moored  to 
it  was  a  swift  motor-boat.  Out  at  anchor  was  the 
yacht. 

"  You  are  Professor  Arnold's  man?  "  asked  Elaine. 

"  Yes'm,"  he  replied,  remembering  her. 

"  Is  the  Professor  out  on  his  boat?"  we  asked. 

He  nodded.    "  Did  you  want  to  see  him  ?  " 

"  Very  much,"  answered  Elaine. 

"  I'll  take  you  out,"  he  offered. 

We  jumped  into  the  motor-boat,  he  started  the  en 
gine  and  we  planed  out  over  the  water. 

Though  we  did  not  see  him,  the  man  whom  I  had 
wounded  was  still  watching  us  from  the  shore,  noting 
every  move.  He  had  followed  us  at  a  distance  across 
the  woods  and  fields  and  down  along  the  shore  to  the 
dock,  had  seen  us  talking  to  Arnold's  man,  and  get 
into  the  boat. 

From  the  shore  he  continued  to  watch  us  skim  across 
the  bay  and  pull  up  alongside  the  yacht.  As  we  climbed 
the  ladder,  he  turned  and  hurried  back  the  way  he  had 
come. 

Elaine  and  I  climbed  aboard  the  yacht  where  we 
could  see  the  Professor  sitting  in  a  wicker  deck  chair. 

"  Why,  how  do  you  do?  "  he  welcomed  us,  adjust 
ing  his  glasses  so  that  his  eyes  seemed,  if  anything, 
more  opaque  than  before. 

I  could  not  help  thinking  that,  although  he  was  glad 
to  see  us,  there  was  a  certain  air  of  restraint  about  him. 

Quickly  Elaine  related  the  story  of  finding  the  bomb 
in  the  rocks  and  the  peculiar  events  and  our  escape 
which  followed.  Once,  at  the  mention  of  the  search- 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  271 

light  gun,  Professor  Arnold  raised  his  hand  and 
coughed  back  of  it.  I  felt  sure  that  it  was  to  hide  an 
involuntary  expression  of  satisfaction  and  that  it  must 
be  he  who  had  sent  the  gun  to  Elaine. 

He  was  listening  attentively  to  her,  while  I  stood  by 
the  rail,  now  and  then  looking  out  over  the  water. 
Far  away  I  noted  something  moving  over  the  surface, 
like  a  rod,  followed  by  a  thin  wake  of  foam. 

"  Look!  "  I  exclaimed,  "  What's  that?  " 

Elaine  turned  to  me,  as  Arnold  seized  his  glasses. 

"  Why,  it  seems  to  be  moving  directly  at  us,"  ex 
claimed  Elaine. 

"  By  George,  it's  the  periscope  of  a  submarine,"  cried 
Arnold  a  moment  later,  lowering  his  glasses. 

He  did  not  hesitate  an  instant. 

"  Get  the  yacht  under  way,"  he  ordered  the  captain, 
who  immediately  shouted  his  orders  to  the  rest. 

Quickly  the  engine  started  and  we  plowed  ahead, 
that  ominous  looking  periscope  following. 


In  the  submarine  harbor  to  which  he  had  been  taken, 
Del  Mar  found  that  he  had  been  pretty  badly  shaken 
up  by  the  accident  to  his  car.  His  clothes  were  torn 
and  his  face  and  body  scratched.  No  bones  were 
broken,  however,  though  the  shock  had  been  great. 
Several  of  his  men  were  endeavoring  to  fix  him  up  in 
the  little  submarine  office,  but  he  was  angry,  very 
angry. 

At  such  a  juncture,  a  man  in  a  dripping  diving-suit 
entered  and  pulled  off  his  helmet,  after  what  had 
evidently  been  a  hasty  trip  from  the  land  through  the 


272  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

entrance  and  up  again  into  the  harbor.  As  he  ap 
proached,  Del  Mar  saw  that  the  man's  hand  was  bound 
up. 

"  What's  the  matter?  "  demanded  Del  Mar.  "  How 
did  you  get  that?" 

"  That  fellow  Jameson  and  the  girl  did  it,"  he  re 
plied,  telling  what  had  happened  in  the  cave.  "  Some 
one  must  have  given  them  one  of  those  new  searchlight 
guns." 

Del  Mar,  already  ugly,  was  beside  himself  with  rage 
now. 

"  Where  are  they?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  saw  them  go  out  to  the  yacht  of  that  Professor 
Arnold." 

"  He's  the  fellow  that  gave  her  the  gun,"  almost 
hissed  Del  Mar.  "  On  the  yacht,  are  they?  " 

An  evil  smile  seemed  to  spread  over  his  face. 
"  Then  we'll  get  them  all,  this  time.  Man  the  subma 
rine — the  Z99." 

All  left  the  office  on  the  run,  hurrying  around  the 
ledge  and  down  into  the  open  hatch  of  the  submarine. 
Del  Mar  came  along  a  moment  later,  giving  orders 
sharply  and  quickly. 

The  hatch  was  closed  and  the  vessel  sealed.  On  all 
sides  were  electrical  devices  and  machines  to  operate 
the  craft  and  the  torpedoes — an  intricate  system  of 
things  which  it  seemed  as  if  no  human  mind  could  pos 
sibly  understand. 

Del  Mar  threw  on  a  switch.  The  submarine  hummed 
and  trembled.  Slowly  she  sank  in  the  harbor  until 
she  was  at  the  level  of  the  underwater  entrance 
through  the  rocks.  Carefully  she  was  guided  out 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  273 

through  this  entrance  into  the  waters  of  the  larger, 
real  harbor. 

Del  Mar  took  his  place  at  the  periscope,  the  eye  of 
the  submarine.  Anxiously  he  turned  it  about  and  bent 
over  the  image  which  it  projected. 

"  There  it  is,"  he  muttered,  picking  out  Arnold's 
yacht  and  changing  the  course  of  the  submarine  so  that 
it  was  headed  directly  at  it,  the  planes  turned  so  that 
they  kept  the  boat  just  under  the  surface  with  only  the 
periscope  showing  above. 

Forward,  about  the  torpedo  discharge  tubes  men 
were  busy,  testing  the  doors,  and  getting  ready  the  big 
automobile  torpedoes. 

"  They  must  have  seen  us,"  muttered  Del  Mar. 
"  They've  started  the  yacht.  But  we  can  beat  them, 
easily.  Are  you  ready?" 

"  Yes/'  called  back  the  men  forward,  pushing  a 
torpedo  into  the  lock-like  compartment  from  which  it 
was  launched. 

"  Let  it  go,  then,"  bellowed  Del  Man 

The  torpedo  shot  out  into  the  water,  travelling  under 
her  own  power,  straight  at  the  yacht. 


Elaine  and  I  looked  back.  The  periscope  was  much 
nearer  than  before.  "  Can  we  outdistance  the  sub 
marine  ?  "  I  asked  of  Arnold. 

Arnold  shook  his  head,  his  face  grave.  On  came  the 
thin  line  of  foam.  "  I'm  afraid  we'll  have  to  leave  the 
yacht,"  he  said  warningly.  "  My  little  motor-boat  is 
much  faster." 

Arnold  shouted  his  orders  as  he  led  us  down  the  lad- 

18 


274  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

der  to  the  motor-boat  into  which  we  jumped,  followed 
by  as  many  of  the  crew  as  could  get  in,  while  the  others 
leaped  into  the  water  from  the  rail  of  the  yacht  and 
struck  out  for  the  shore  which  was  not  very  distant. 

"What's  that?"  cried  Elaine,  horrified,  pointing 
back. 

The  water  seemed  to  be  all  churned  up.  A  long 
cigar-shaped  affair  was  slipping  along  near  enough  to 
the  surface  so  that  we  could  just  make  it  out — murder 
ous,  deadly,  aimed  right  at  the  heart  of  the  yacht. 

"  A  torpedo !  "  exclaimed  Arnold.     "  Cast  off !  " 

We  moved  off  from  the  yacht  as  swiftly  as  the  speedy 
little  open  motor-boat  would  carry  us,  not  a  minute  too 
soon. 

The  torpedo  struck  the  yacht  almost  exactly  amid 
ships.  A  huge  column  of  water  spurted  up  into  the 
air  as  though  a  gigantic  whale  were  blowing  off.  The 
yacht  itself  seemed  lifted  from  the  water  and  literally 
broken  in  half  like  a  brittle  rod  of  glass  and  dropped 
back  into  the  water. 

Below  in  the  submarine,  Del  Mar  was  still  at  the 
periscope  directing  things. 

"  A  hit !  "  he  cried  exultingly.  "  We  got  the  whole 
bunch  this  time !  " 

He  turned  to  the  men  to  congratulate  them,  a  smile 
on  his  evil  face.  But  as  he  looked  again,  he  caught 
sight  of  our  little  motor-boat  skimming  safely  away 
on  the  other  side  of  the  wreck. 

"  The  deuce !  "  he  muttered.  "  Try  another.  Here's 
the  direction." 

Furiously  he  swore  as  the  men  guided  the  submarine 
and  loaded  another  torpedo  into  a  tube.  As  the  tube 


THE  SEARCHLIGHT  GUN  275 

came  into  position,  they  let  the  torpedo  go.  An  in 
stant  later  it  was  hissing  its  way  at  us. 

"  See,  there's  another!  "  I  cried,  catching  sight  of  it. 

All  looked.  Sure  enough,  through  the  water  could 
be  seen  another  of  those  murderous  messengers  dash 
ing  at  us. 

Arnold  ran  forward  and  seized  the  wheel  himself, 
swinging  the  boat  around  hard  to  starboard  and  the 
land.  We  turned  just  in  time.  The  torpedo,  brainless 
but  deadly,  dashed  past  us  harmlessly. 

As  fast  as  we  could  now  we  made  for  the  shore. 
No  one  could  catch  us  with  such  a  start,  not  even  the 
swiftest  torpedo.  We  had  been  rescued  by  Arnold's 
quick  wit  from  a  most  desperate  situation. 

Somewhere  below  the  water,  I  could  imagine  a 
man  consumed  with  fury  over  our  escape,  as  the  peri 
scope  disappeared  and  the  submarine  made  off. 

We  were  safe.  But,  looking  out  over  the  water,  we 
could  not  help  shuddering  at  the  perils  beneath  its  ap 
parently  peaceful  surface. 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN 

EARLY  one  morning,  a  very  handsome  woman  of  the 
adventuress  type  arrived  with  several  trunks  at  the 
big  summer  hotel,  just  outside  the  town,  the  St.  Ger 
main. 

Among  the  many  fashionable  people  at  the  watering- 
place,  however,  she  attracted  no  great  attention  and  in 
the  forenoon  she  quietly  went  out  in  her  motor  for  a 
ride: 

It  was  Madame  Larenz,  one  of  Del  Mar's  secret 
agents  who,  up  to  this  time,  had  been  engaged  in  spy 
ing  on  wealthy  and  impressionable  American  manu 
facturers. 

Her  airing  brought  her,  finally,  to  the  bungalow  of 
Del  Mar  and  there  she  was  admitted  in  a  manner  that 
showed  that  Del  Mar  trusted  her  highly. 

"  Now,"  he  instructed,  after  a  few  minutes  chat,  "  I 
want  you  to  get  acquainted  with  Miss  Dodge.  You 
know  how  to  interest  her.  She's  quite  human.  Pretty 
gowns  appeal  to  her.  Get  her  to  the  St.  Germain. 
Then  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do." 

A  few  minutes  later  the  woman  left  in  her  car,  so 
rapidly  driven  that  no  one  would  recognize  her. 

It  was  early  in  the  afternoon  that  Aunt  Josephine 
was  sitting  on  the  veranda,  when  an  automobile  drove 

276 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  277 

up  and  a  very  stylishly  gowned  and  bonnetted  woman 
stepped  out. 

"  Good  afternoon,"  she  greeted  Aunt  Josephine  in 
gratiatingly  as  she  approached  the  house.  "  I  am 
Madame  Larenz  of  New  York  and  Paris.  Perhaps 
you  have  heard  of  my  shops  on  Fifth  Avenue  and  the 
Rue  de  la  Paix." 

Aunt  Josephine  had  heard  the  name,  though  she 
did  not  know  that  this  woman  had  assumed  it  without 
being  in  any  way  connected  with  the  places  she  men 
tioned. 

"  I'm  establishing  a  new  sort  of  summer  service  at 
the  better  resorts,"  the  woman  explained.  "  You  see, 
my  people  find  it  annoying  to  go  into  the  city  for 
gowns.  So  I  am  bringing  the  latest  Paris  models  out 
to  them.  Is  Miss  Dodge  at  home?  " 

"  I  think  she  is  playing  tennis,"  returned  Aunt 
Josephine. 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  see  her,  thank  you,"  the  woman  mur 
mured,  moving  toward  the  tennis  court,  back  of  the 
house. 

Elaine  and  I  had  agreed  to  play  a  couple  of  games 
and  were  tossing  rackets  for  position. 

"  Very  well,"  laughed  Elaine,  as  she  won  the  toss, 
"  take  the  other  court." 

It  was  a  cool  day  and  I  felt  in  good  spirits.  Just 
to  see  whether  I  could  do  it  still,  I  jumped  over  the 
net. 

Our  game  had  scarcely  started  when  we  were  inter 
rupted  by  the  approach  of  a  stunning  looking  woman. 

"Miss  Dodge?"  she  greeted.  "Will  you  excuse 
me  a  moment  ?  " 


278          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Elaine  paused  in  serving  the  ball  and  the  woman 
handed  her  a  card  from  her  delicate  gold  mesh  bag. 
It  read  simply : 

Mme.  Larenz 
Paris 
Gowns 

Elaine  looked  at  the  card  a  moment  while  the  woman 
repeated  what  she  had  already  told  Aunt  Josephine. 

"  You  have  them  here,  then  ?  "  queried  Elaine,  in 
terested. 

"  Yes,  I  have  some  very  exclusive  models  which  I 
am  showing  at  my  suite  in  the  St.  Germain." 

"  Oh,  how  lovely,"  exclaimed  Elaine.  "  I  must  see 
them." 

They  talked  a  few  minutes,  while  I  waited  patiently 
for  Elaine  to  start  the  game  again.  That  game,  how 
ever,  was  destined  never  to  be  finished.  More  weighty 
matters  were  under  discussion. 

I  wondered  what  they  were  talking  about  and,  sup 
pressing  a  yawn,  I  walked  toward  them.  As  I  ap 
proached,  I  heard  scattered  remarks  about  styles  and 
dress  fabrics. 

Elaine  had  completely  forgotten  tennis  and  me.  She 
took  a  couple  of  steps  away  from  the  court  with  the 
woman,  as  I  came  up. 

"  Aren't  you  going  to  play  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  know  you'll  excuse  me,  Walter,"  smiled  Elaine. 
"  My  frocks  are  all  so  frightfully  out  of  date.  And 
here's  a  chance  to  get  new  ones,  very  reasonably,  too." 

They  walked  off  and  I  could  not  help  scowling  at 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  279 

the  visitor.  On  toward  the  house  Elaine  and  Madame 
Larenz  proceeded  and  around  it  to  the  front  porch 
where  Aunt  Josephine  was  standing. 

"  Just  think,  Auntie,"  cried  Elaine,  "  real  Paris 
gowns  down  here  without  the  trouble  of  going  to  the 
city — and  cheaply,  too." 

Aunt  Josephine  was  only  mildly  interested,  but  that 
did  not  seem  to  worry  Madame  Larenz. 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  you  at  three,  Miss  Dodge," 
she  said  as  she  got  into  her  car  again  and  drove  off. 

By  that  time,  I  had  caught  up  with  Elaine  again. 
"  Just  one  game,"  I  urged. 

"  Please  excuse  me, — this  time,  Walter,"  she  pleaded, 
laughing.  "  You  don't  know  how  sadly  I'm  in  need 
of  new  frocks." 

It  was  no  use  of  further  urging  her.  Tennis  was  out 
of  her  mind  for  good  that  day.  Accordingly,  I 
mounted  to  my  room  and  there  quickly  donned  my 
riding  clothes. 

When  I  came  down,  I  found  Aunt  Josephine  still  on 
the  veranda.  In  addition  to  my  horse  which  I  had  tele 
phoned  for,  Elaine's  little  runabout  had  been  driven 
to  the  door.  While  I  was  talking  to  Aunt  Josephine, 
Elaine  came  down-stairs  and  walked  over  to  the  car. 

"  May  I  go  with  you?  "  I  pleaded. 

"  No,  Walter,"  she  replied  laughing  merrily.  "  You 
can't  go.  I  want  to  try  them  on." 

Properly  squelched,  I  retreated.  Elaine  drove  away 
and  a  moment  later,  I  mounted  and  cantered  off  lei 
surely. 

Near  Del  Mar's  bungalow  might  have  been  seen 


280  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

again  the  mysterious  naturalist,  walking  along  the  road 
with  a  butterfly  net  in  his  hand  and  what  appeared  to 
be  a  leather  specimen  case,  perhaps  six  inches  long, 
under  his  other  arm. 

As  Madame  Larenz  whizzed  past  in  her  car,  he 
looked  up  keenly  in  spite  of  his  seeming  near-sighted 
ness  and  huge  smoked  glasses.  He  watched  her  closely, 
noting  the  number  of  the  car,  then  turned  and  followed 
it. 

Madame  Larenz  drew  up,  a  second  time,  before  Del 
Mar's.  As  she  got  out  and  entered,  the  naturalist, 
having  quickened  his  pace,  came  up  and  watched  her 
go  in.  Then,  after  taking  in  the  situation  for  a  mo 
ment,  he  made  his  way  around  the  side  of  the  bunga 
low. 

"Is  Mr.  Del  Mar  at  home?"  inquired  Madame 
Larenz,  as  the  valet  ushered  her  into  the  library. 

"  No  ma'am,"  he  returned.  "  Mr.  Del  Mar  is  out. 
But  he  left  word  that  if  you  came  before  he  got  back, 
you  were  to  leave  word." 

The  woman  sat  down  at  the  desk  and  wrote  hastily. 
When  she  had  finished  the  short  note,  she  read  it  over 
and  folded  it  up. 

"  Tell  Mr.  Del  Mar  I've  left  a  note  here  on  his  desk," 
she  said  to  the  valet. 

A  moment  later  she  left  the  library,  followed  by  the 
valet,  who  accompanied  her  to  her  car  and  assisted 
her  in. 

"  The  hotel,"  she  directed  to  her  driver,  as  he  started 
off,  while  the  valet  returned  to  the  bungalow. 

Outside,  the  naturalist  had  come  through  the  shrub' 
bery  and  had  been  looking  in  at  the  library  window, 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  281 

watching  every  move  of  Madame  Larenz  as  she  wrote. 
As  she  went  out,  he  paused  just  a  second  to  look  about. 
Then  he  drew  a  long  knife  from  his  pocket,  forced  the 
window  catch,  and  quickly  climbed  into  the  room. 

Directly  to  the  desk  he  went  and  hurriedly  ran  over 
the  papers  on  it.  There  was  the  note.  He  picked  it 
up  and  read  it  eagerly. 

"  My  apartment — St.  Germain — 3  P.  M. 

"  LARENZ." 

For  a  moment  he  seemed  to  consider  what  to  do. 
Then  he  replaced  the  note.  Suddenly  he  heard  the 
sound  of  footsteps.  It  was  the  valet  returning. 
Quickly  the  naturalist  ran  to  the  window  and  jumped 
out. 

A  moment  later,  the  valet  entered  the  library  again. 
"  That's  strange,"  he  exclaimed  under  his  breath,  "  I 
don't  recall  opening  that  window  over  there  to-day." 

He  looked  puzzled.  But  as  no  one  was  about,  he 
went  over  and  shut  it. 

Some  distance  down  the  road,  the  naturalist  quietly 
emerged  in  safety  from  the  bushes.  With  scarcely  a 
moment's  hesitation,  his  mind  thoroughly  made  up  to 
his  course,  he  hurried  along  the  road. 

Meanwhile,  at  the  St.  Germain,  Madame  Larenz  en 
tered  and  passed  through  the  rotunda  of  the  hotel,  fol 
lowed  by  many  admiring  glances  of  the  men. 

Up  in  her  room  stood  several  large  trunks,  open. 
From  them  had  been  taken  a  number  of  gowns  which 
were  scattered  about  or  hung  up  for  exhibition. 

•As  she  entered,  quickly  she  selected  one  of  the  trunks 


282  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

whose  contents  were  more  smart  than  the  rest  and 
laid  the  gowns  out  most  fetchingly  about  the  room. 

In  the  office  of  the  hotel  a  few  moments  later,  the 
naturalist  entered.  He  looked  around  curiously,  then 
went  to  the  desk  and  glanced  over  the  register.  At  the 
name  "  Mme  Larenz,  Paris,  Room  22,"  he  paused. 

For  some  seconds  he  stood  thinking.  Then  he  de 
liberately  walked  over  to  a  leather  chair  and  took  a 
prominent  seat  near-by  in  the  lobby.  He  had  dis 
carded  his  net,  but  still  had  the  case  which  now  he  had 
shoved  into  his  pocket.  From  a  table,  he  picked  up  a 
newspaper. 

It  was  not  long  before  Del  Mar  pulled  up  before  the 
hotel  and  entered  in  his  usual  swagger  manner.  He 
had  returned  to  the  bungalow,  read  the  note  and  hur 
ried  over  to  the  St.  Germain. 

He  crossed  the  lobby,  back  to  the  office.  As  he  did 
so,  the  naturalist  had  his  face  hidden  deeply  in  the 
open  newspaper.  But  no  sooner  had  Del  Mar  passed 
than  the  newspaper  fell  unappreciated  and  he  gazed 
after  him,  as  he  left  the  lobby  by  the  back  way. 

It  was  only  a  few  minutes  after  she  had  completed 
arranging  her  small  stock  so  that  it  looked  quite  im 
pressive,  that  Madame  Larenz  heard  a  knock  at  the 
door  and  recognized  Del  Mar's  secret  code.  She 
opened  the  door  and  he  strode  in. 

"  I  got  your  note,"  he  said  briefly,  coming  directly  to 
business  and  telling  her  just  what  he  wanted  done. 
"  Let  me  see,"  he  concluded,  glancing  at  his  watch. 
It  is  after  three  now.  She  ought  to  be  here  any  min 
ute." 

Outside,  Elaine  drove  up  to  the  rather  garish  en- 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  283 

trance  of  the  St.  Germain  and  one  of  the  boys  in  uni 
form  ran  forward  to  open  the  door  and  take  charge  of 
the  car.  She,  too,  crossed  the  lobby  without  seeing 
the  old  naturalist,  though  nothing  escaped  him. 

As  she  passed,  he  started  to  rise  and  cross  toward 
her,  then  appeared  to  change  his  mind. 

Elaine  went  on  out  through  the  back  of  the  lobby, 
directed  by  a  boy,  and  mounted  a  flight  of  stairs,  in 
preference  to  taking  the  lift  to  the  second,  or  sort  of 
mezzanine  floor.  Down  along  the  corridor  she  went, 
hunting  for  number  twenty-two.  At  last  she  found  it 
at  the  end,  and  knocked. 

Del  Mar  and  Madame  Larenz  were  still  talking  in 
low  tones  when  they  heard  a  light  tap  on  the  door. 

"  There  she  is,  now,"  whispered  Larenz. 

"  All  right.  Let  her  in,"  answered  Del  Mar,  leaping 
quietly  to  a  closet.  "  I'll  hide  here  until  I  get  the  sig 
nal.  Do  just  as  I  told  you." 

Outside,  at  the  same  time,  according  to  his  carefully 
concocted  plans,  Del  Mar's  car  had  driven  up  and 
stopped  close  to  the  side  of  the  hotel,  which  was  on  a 
slight  hill  that  brought  the  street  level  here  not  so  far 
below  the  second  story  windows.  Three  of  his  most 
trusted  men  were  in  the  car. 

Madame  Larenz  opened  the  door.  "  Oh,  I'm  so  glad 
you  came,"  she  rattled  on  to  Elaine.  "  You  see,  I've 
got  to  get  started.  Not  a  customer  yet.  But  if  you'll 
only  take  a  few  gowns,  other  people  will  come  to  me. 
I'll  let  you  have  them  cheaply,  too.  Just  look  at  this 
one." 

She  held  up  one  filmy,  creamy  creation  that  looked 
like  a  delicate  flower. 


284  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  I'd  like  to  try  it  on,"  cried  Elaine,  fingering  it 
rapturously. 

"  By  all  means,"  agreed  Madame.  "  We  are  alone. 
Do  so." 

With  deft  fingers,  Larenz  helped  her  take  off  her 
own  very  pretty  dress.  As  Elaine  slipped  the  soft 
gown  over  her  head,  with  her  head  and  arms  engaged 
in  its  multitudinous  folds,  Madame  Larenz,  a  powerful 
woman,  seized  her.  Elaine  was  effectually  gagged  and 
bound  in  the  gown  itself. 

Instantly,  Del  Mar  flung  himself  from  the  closet,  dis 
guising  his  voice.  Together,  they  wrapped  the  dress 
about  Elaine  even  more  tightly  to  prevent  her  scream 
ing. 

Madame  Larenz  seized  a  blanket  and  threw  that 
over  Elaine's  head,  also,  while  Del  Mar  ran  to  the 
window.  There  were  his  men  in  the  car,  waiting  be 
low. 

"  Are  you  ready?  "  he  called  softly  to  them. 

They  looked  about  carefully.  There  was  no  one  on 
that  side  of  the  hotel  just  at  the  moment. 

"  Ready,"  responded  one.     "  Quick !  " 

Together,  Del  Mar  and  Madame  Larenz  passed 
Elaine,  ineffectually  struggling,  out  of  the  window. 
The  men  seized  her  and  placed  her  in  the  bottom  of  the 
car,  which  was  covered.  Then  they  shot  away,  taking 
a  back  road  up  the  hill. 


Hurriedly  the  naturalist  went  through  the  lobby  in 
the  direction  Elaine  had  gone,  and  a  moment  later 
reached  the  corridor  above. 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  285 

Down  it,  he  could  hear  some  one  coming  out  of 
room  twenty-two.  He  slid  into  an  angle  and  hid. 

It  was  Del  Mar  and  the  woman  he  had  seen  at  the 
bungalow.  They  passed  by  without  discovering  him, 
nor  could  he  make  out  anything  that  they  said.  What 
mischief  was  afoot?  Where  was  Elaine? 

He  ran  to  the  door  and  tried  it.  It  was  locked. 
Quickly,  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  skeleton  key  and 
unlocked  it.  There  was  Elaine's  hat  and  dress  lying 
in  a  heap  on  the  bed.  But  she  was  not  there.  He  was 
now  thoroughly  alarmed. 

She  could  not  have  passed  him  in  the  hall.  There 
fore  she  must  have  gone  or  been  taken  out  through  the 
window.  That  would  never  have  been  voluntary,  es 
pecially  leaving  her  things  there. 

The  window  was  still  open.  He  ran  to  it.  One 
glance  out  was  enough.  He  leaped  to  the  ground. 
Sure  enough,  there  were  automobile  tracks  in  the  dust. 

"  Del  Mar's  car,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  studying 
them. 

He  fairly  ran  around  the  side  of  the  hotel.  There  he 
came  suddenly  upon  Elaine's  car  standing  alone,  and 
recognized  it. 

There  was  no  time  for  delay.  He  jumped  into  it, 
and  let  the  swift  little  racer  out  as  he  turned  and  gath 
ered  momentum  to  shoot  up  the  hill  on  high  speed. 

Meanwhile,  I  had  been  jogging  along  through  the 
country,  lonely  and  disconsolate.  I  don't  know  how  it 
happened,  but  I  suppose  it  was  by  some  subconscious 
desire.  At  any  rate  I  found  myself  at  the  road  that 
:ame  out  across  one  leading  to  the  St.  Germain  and  it 
occurred  to  me  that  Elaine  might  by  this  time  have 


286  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

purchased  enough  frocks  to  clothe  her  for  a  year.  At 
any  rate  I  quickened  my  pace  in  the  hope  of  seeing  her. 

Suddenly,  my  horse  shied  and  a  familiar  little  car 
flashed  past  me.  But  the  driver  was  not  iamiliar.  It 
was  Elaine's  roadster.  In  it  was  a  stranger — a  man 
who  looked  like  a  "  bugologist,"  as  nearly  as  I  can  de 
scribe  him.  Was  he  running  off  with  her  car  while 
she  was  waiting  inside  the  hotel? 

I  galloped  after  him. 

Del  Mar's  automobile,  with  Elaine  bound  and 
gagged  in  it,  drove  rapidly  by  back  and  unfrequented 
ways  into  the  country  until  at  last  it  pulled  up  before 
an  empty  two-story  house  in  a  sort  of  grove  of  trees. 

The  men  leaped  out,  lifted  Elaine,  and  carried  her 
bodily  into  the  house,  taking  her  up-stairs  and  into  an 
upper  room.  She  had  fainted  when  they  laid  her  down 
and  loosened  the  dress  from  about  her  face  so  that  she 
could  breathe.  There  they  left  her,  on  the  floor,  her 
hands  and  feet  bound,  and  went  out. 

How  long  she  lay  there,  she  never  knew,  but  at  last 
the  air  revived  her  and  she  regained  consciousness  and 
sat  up.  Her  muscles  were  sore  and  her  head  ached. 
But  she  set  her  teeth  and  began  struggling  with  the 
cords  that  bound  her,  managing  at  last  to  pull  the  dress 
over  herself  at  least. 

In  Elaine's  car,  the  naturalist  drove  slowly  at  times, 
following  the  tracks  of  the  automobile  ahead.  At  last, 
however,  he  came  to  a  place  where  he  saw  that  the 
tracks  went  up  a  lonely  side  road.  To  approach  in  a 
car  was  to  warn  whoever  was  there.  He  ran  the  car 
up  alongside  the  road  in  the  bushes  and  jumped  out 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  287 

leaving  it  and  following  the  tracks  up  the  side  road 
way. 

As  he  approached  a  single  deserted  house,  he  left 
even  the  narrow  road  altogether  and  plunged  into  the 
woods,  careful  to  proceed  noiselessly.  Through  the 
bushes,  near  the  house,  he  peered.  There  he  could  see 
one  of  Del  Mar's  men  in  the  doorway,  apparently  talk 
ing  to  others  behind  him. 

Stealthily  the  naturalist  crept  around,  still  hiding, 
until  he  was  closer  to  the  house  on  the  other  side.  At 
last  he  worked  his  way  around  to  the  rear  door.  He 
tried  it.  It  was  bolted  and  even  the  skeleton  key  was 
unavailing  to  slide  the  bolt.  Seconds  were  precious. 

Quickly,  he  went  to  the  corner  of  the  house.  There 
was  a  water-leader.  He  began  to  climb  it,  risking  its 
precarious  support. 

On  the  roof  at  last,  the  naturalist  crawled  along, 
looking  for  some  way  of  getting  into  the  house.  But 
he  could  not  seem  to  find  any.  Carefully,  he  crawled 
to  the  edge  of  the  roof  and  looked  over.  Below,  he 
could  hear  sounds,  but  could  make  nothing  of  them. 

From  his  pocket,  he  took  the  leather  case  and  opened 
it.  There  was  a  peculiar  arrangement,  like  some  of 
the  collapsible  arms  on  which  telephone  instruments 
are  often  fastened  to  a  desk  or  wall,  capable  of  being 
collapsed  into  small  space  or  of  being  extended  for 
some  distance.  On  the  thing  was  arranged  a  system 
of  mirrors,  which  the  naturalist  adjusted. 

It  was  a  pocket  periscope. 

He  thrust  the  thing  over  the  edge  of  the  roof  and 
down,  and  looked  through  it.  Below,  he  could  see  into 
the  room  from  which  came  the  peculiar  sounds. 


288  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

He  looked  anxiously.  There  he  could  see  Elaine  en 
deavoring  still  to  loosen  the  cords  and  unable  to  do  so. 
Only  for  a  moment  he  looked.  Then  he  folded  up  the 
pocket  periscope  into  the  case  and  shoved  it  back  into 
his  pocket.  Quickly  he  crossed  the  roof  again,  and 
slid  back  down  the  rain-pipe. 

At  the  door  stood  three  of  Del  Mar's  men  waiting 
for  Del  Mar  who  had  told  them  he  would  follow  im 
mediately. 

The  naturalist  had  by  this  time  reached  the  ground 
and  was  going  along  carefully  back  of  the  house.  He 
drew  his  revolver  and,  pointing  it  down,  fired.  Then 
he  dodged  back  of  an  extension  and  disappeared  for 
the  moment. 

Instantly,  the  three  men  sprang  up  and  ran  toward 
the  spot  where  it  seemed  the  shot  had  been  fired. 
There  was  no  one  about  the  side  of  the  house.  But  the 
wind  had  carried  the  smoke  into  some  bushes  beside 
the  grove  and  they  crashed  into  the  bushes,  beating 
about. 

At  the  same  time,  the  naturalist,  having  first  waited 
until  he  saw  which  way  the  men  were  going,  dashed 
about  the  house  in  the  opposite  direction.  Then  he 
slipped,  unopposed  and  unobserved,  in  through  the 
open  front  door,  up  the  stairs  and  along  to  the  room 
into  which  he  had  just  been  looking.  He  unlocked  the 
door,  and  entered.  Elaine  was  still  struggling  with 
the  cords  when  she  caught  sight  of  the  stranger. 

"  Not  a  word,"  he  cautioned  under  his  breath. 

She  was  indeed  too  frightened  to  cry  out.  Quickly, 
he  loosened  her,  still  holding  his  finger  to  his  lips  to 
enjoin  silence. 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  289 

"  Follow  me,"  he  whispered. 

She  obeyed  mechanically,  and  they  went  out  into  the 
hall.  On  down-stairs  went  the  naturalist,  Elaine  still 
keeping  close  after  him. 

He  looked  out  through  the  front  door,  then  drew 
back.  Quickly  he  went  through  the  lower  hall  until 
he  came  to  the  back  door  in  the  kitchen,  Elaine  fol 
lowing.  He  unbolted  the  door  and  opened  it. 

"  Run,"  he  said,  simply,  pointing  out  of  the  door. 
"  They're  coming  back  the  other  way.  I'll  hold  them." 

She  needed  no  further  urging,  but  darted  from  the 
house  as  he  closed  the  door  after  her. 

It  was  just  at  this  point  that  Del  Mar  came  riding 
along  the  main  road  on  horseback.  He  pulled  up  sud 
denly  as  he  saw  a  car  run  in  alongside  the  road. 

"  That's  Elaine's  runabout,"  he  muttered,  as  he  dis 
mounted  and  tied  his  horse.  "  How  came  it  here?  " 

He  approached  the  car,  much  worried  by  its  unac 
countable  presence  there  instead  of  before  the  St.  Ger 
main.  Then  he  drew  his  gun  and  hurried  up  the  side 
road. 

He  heard  a  shot  and  quickened  his  pace.  In  the 
woods  unexpectedly  he  came  upon  his  three  men  still 
beating  about,  searching  with  drawn  revolvers  for  the 
person  who  had  fired  the  shot. 

"  Well?  "  he  demanded  sharply,  "  what's  all  this?  " 

"  Some  one  fired  a  shot,"  they  explained,  somewhat 
crestfallen. 

"  It  was  a  trick,  you  fools/'  he  answered  testily. 
"  Get  back  to  your  prisoner." 

19 


290  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Without  a  word  they  turned  and  hurried  toward  the 
house,  Del  Mar  following.  "  You  two  go  in,"  he  or 
dered  the  foremost.  "  I'll  go  around  the  house  with 
Patrick." 

As  Del  Mar  and  the  other  man  ran  around  the  cor 
ner,  they  could  just  catch  a  fleeting  glimpse  on  some 
one  disappearing  among  the  trees. 

It  was  Elaine. 

The  man  hurried  forward,  blazing  away  with  his 
gun. 

Running,  breathless,  Elaine  heard  the  shot  behind 
her  which  Del  Mar's  man  had  fired  in  his  eagerness. 
The  bullet  struck  a  tree  near  her  with  a  "  ping !  "  She 
glanced  back  and  saw  the  man.  But  she  did  not  stop. 
Instead,  she  redoubled  her  efforts,  running  zigzag  in 
among  the  trees  where  they  were  thickest. 

Del  Mar,  a  little  bit  behind  his  man  where  she  could 
not  recognize  him,  urged  the  man  on,  following  care 
fully. 

On  fled  Elaine,  her  heart  beating  fast.  Suddenly 
she  stopped  and  almost  cried  out  in  vexation.  A 
stream  blocked  her  retreat,  a  stream,  swift  and  deep. 

She  looked  back,  terrified.  Her  pursuers  were  com 
ing  ahead  fast  now  in  her  direction.  Wildly  she 
gazed  around.  There  was  a  canoe  on  the  bank.  In  an 
instant  she  jumped  in,  untied  it,  and  seized  the  paddle. 

Off  she  went,  striking  for  the  opposite  shore.  But 
the  current  was  racing  swiftly,  and  she  was  already 
tired  and  exhausted.  She  could  scarcely  make  any 
headway  at  all  in  the  fierce  eddies.  But  at  least,  she 
thought  hurriedly,  she  was  getting  further  and  further 
away  from  them  down-stream. 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  291 

Up  above,  Del  Mar  and  his  man  came  to  the  edge 
of  the  water.  There  they  stood  for  a  moment  looking 
down. 

"  There  she  is,"  pointed  the  man. 

Del  Mar  raised  his  revolver  and  fired. 

Suddenly  a  bullet  struck  Elaine's  paddle  and  broke 
it.  Clutching  the  useless  splintered  shaft,  she  was  now 
at  the  mercy  of  the  current,  swept  along  like  a  piece 
of  driftwood. 

She  looked  about  frantically.  What  was  that  roar 
ing  noise? 

It  was  the  waterfalls  ahead! 

In  the  meantime,  Del  Mar's  other  two  men  had  en 
tered  the  house  and  had  run  up-stairs,  knowing  well 
his  wrath  if  anything  had  happened.  As  they  did  so, 
the  naturalist  poked  his  head  cautiously  out  of  the 
kitchen  where  he  had  been  hiding,  and  saw  them. 
Then  he  followed  noiselessly,  his  revolver  ready. 

Headlong  they  ran  into  the  room  where  they  had 
left  Elaine.  She  was  gone! 

Before  they  could  turn,  the  naturalist  locked  the 
door,  turned  and  took  the  steps  down,  two  at  a  time. 

Then  he  ran  out  of  the  front  door  and  into  the 
woods  at  an  angle  to  the  direction  taken  by  Elaine, 
turning  and  going  down  hill,  where  a  rapid,  swollen 
stream  curved  about  through  a  gorge.  As  he  reached 
the  stream,  he  heard  a  shot  above,  and  a  scream. 

He  looked  up.  There  was  Elaine,  swept  down 
toward  him.  Below  he  knew  the  stream  tumbled  over 
a  tall  cataract  into  the  gorge  below. 

What  could  he  do  ? 


292  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

A  sudden  crackling  of  the  twigs  caused  him  to  turn 
and  catch  sight  of  me,  just  coming  up. 

For,  as  best  I  could  on  horseback,  I  had  followed 
Elaine's  car  until  at  last  I  saw  that  it  had  been  aban 
doned.  Thoroughly  alarmed,  I  rode  on,  past  a  de 
serted  house  until  suddenly  I  heard  a  shot  and  a  scream. 
It  seemed  to  come  from  below  me  and  I  leaped  off  my 
horse,  making  for  it  as  fast  as  I  could,  racing  toward 
a  stream  whose  roar  I  could  hear. 

There  on  the  bank  I  came  upon  a  queer  old  codger, 
looking  about  wildly.  Was  he  the  automobile  thief? 
I  ran  forward,  ready  to  seize  him.  But  as  I  did  so,  he 
whirled  about  and  with  a  strength  remarkable  in  one 
so  old  seized  my  own  wrist  before  I  could  get  his. 

"  Look !  "  he  cried  simply,  pointing  up  the  stream. 

I  did.  A  girl  in  a  canoe  was  coming  down  toward 
the  falls,  screaming,  her  paddle  broken  and  useless. 
My  heart  leaped  into  my  mouth.  It  was  Elaine! 

"  Come,"  he  panted  eagerly  to  me.  "  I  can  save 
her.  You  must  do  just  as  I  say." 

He  pointed  to  an  overhanging  rock  near-by  and  we 
ran  to  it. 

By  this  time  Elaine  was  almost  upon  us,  each  second 
getting  nearer  the  veritable  maelstrom  above  the  falls. 

From  the  rock  overhung  also  a  tree  at  the  very  edge 
of  the  water. 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  obey  him.  Above, 
though  we  did  not  see  them,  Del  Mar  and  his  man  were 
gloating  over  the  result  of  their  work.  But  they  were 
gloating  too  soon.  We  came  to  the  rock  and  the  tree. 

"  Here,"  cried  the  new-found  friend,  "  I'll  get  hold 
of  the  tree  and  then  hold  you." 


THE  LIFE  CHAIN  293 

Instantly  he  threw  himself  on  his  stomach,  hooking 
his  leg  about  the  tree  trunk.  I  crawled  out  over  the 
ledge  of  slippery  rock  to  the  very  edge  and  looked 
over.  It  was  the  only  chance. 

The  old  naturalist  seized  my  legs  in  his  hands.  I 
slid  down  the  rock,  letting  myself  go. 

Literally,  his  presence  of  mind  had  invented  what 
was  really  a  life  chain,  a  human  rope. 

On  came  the  canoe,  Elaine  in  it  as  white  as  death, 
crying  out  and  trying  to  stop  or  guide  it  as,  nearer 
and  nearer  through  the  smooth- worn  walls  of  the 
chasm,  it  whirled  to  the  falls. 

With  a  grip  of  steel,  the  naturalist  held  to  the  tree 
which  swayed  and  bent,  while  also  he  held  me,  as  if 
in  a  vise,  head  down. 

On  came  Elaine — directly  at  us. 

She  stood  up  and  balanced  herself,  a  dangerous  feat 
in  a  canoe  at  any  time,  but  doubly  so  in  those  dark, 
swirling,  treacherous  waters. 

"  Steady !  "  I  encouraged.     "  Grab  my  arms !  " 

As  the  canoe  reached  us,  she  gave  a  little  jump  and 
seized  my  forearms.  Her  hands  slipped,  but  I  grasped 
her  own  arms,  and  we  held  each  other. 

The  momentum  of  her  body  was  great.  For  an  in 
stant  I  thought  we  were  all  going  over.  But  the 
naturalist  held  his  grip  and  slowly  began  to  pull  him 
self  and  us  up  the  slippery  rock. 

A  second  later  the  canoe  crashed  over  the  falls  in  a 
cloud  of  spray  and  pounding  water. 

As  we  reached  the  bank  above  the  rock,  I  almost 
lifted  Elaine  andteet  her  down,  trembling  and  gasping 
for  breath.  Before  either  of  us  knew  it  the  queer  old 


294  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

fellow  had  plunged  into  the  bushes  and  was  gone  with 
out  another  word. 

"  Walter,"  she  cried,  "  call  him  back,  I  must  tell  him 
how  much  I  owe  him — my  life!  " 

But  he  had  disappeared,  absolutely.  We  shouted 
after  him.  It  was  of  no  use. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  that  ? "  cried  Elaine. 
"  He  saved  my  life — then  didn't  wait  even  to  be 
thanked." 

Who  was  he  ? 

We  looked  at  each  other  a  moment.  But  neither  of 
us  spoke  what  was  in  our  hearts. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   FLASH 

ALONE  in  the  doorway  before  his  rude  shack  on  the 
shore  of  the  promontory  sat  an  old  fisherman,  gazing 
out  fixedly  at  the  harbor  as  though  deeply  concerned 
over  the  weather,  which,  as  usual,  was  unseasonable. 

Suddenly  he  started  and  would  have  disappeared  into 
his  hut  but  for  the  fact  that,  although  he  could  not 
himself  be  seen,  he  had  already  seen  the  intruder. 

It  was  a  trooper  from  Fort  Dale.  He  galloped  up 
and,  as  though  obeying  to  the  letter  his  instructions, 
deliberately  dropped  an  envelope  at  the  feet  of  the 
fisherman.  Then,  without  a  word,  he  galloped  away 
again. 

The  fisherman  picked  up  the  envelope  and  opened  it 
quickly.  Inside  was  a  photograph  and  a  note.  He 
read: 

FORT  DALE 
PROFESSOR  ARNOLD, 

J.  Smith,  clerk  in  the  War  Department,  has  disap 
peared.  We  are  not  sure,  but  fear  that  he  has  a  copy 
of  the  new  Sandy  Hook  Defense  Plans.  It  is  believed 
he  is  headed  your  way.  He  walks  with  a  slight  limp. 
Look  out  for  him. 

LIEUTENANT  WOODWARD. 

295 


296  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

For  a  long  time  the  fisherman  appeared  to  study  the 
face  on  the  photograph  until  he  had  it  indelibly  im 
planted  in  his  memory,  as  if  by  some  system  such  as 
that  of  the  immortal  Bertillon  and  his  clever  "  portrait 
parle,"  or  spoken  picture,  for  scientific  identification 
and  apprehension.  It  was  not  a  pleasant  face  and  there 
were  features  that  were  not  easily  forgotten. 

Finally  he  turned  and  entered  his  hut.  Hastily  he 
took  off  his  stained  reefer.  From  a  wooden  chest  he 
drew  another  outfit  of  clothes.  The  transformation 
was  complete.  When  he  issued  forth  from  his  hut 
again,  it  was  no  longer  the  aged  disciple  of  Izaac  Wal 
ton.  He  was  now  a  trim  chauffeur,  bearded  and  gog 
gled. 

In  the  library  of  his  bungalow,  Del  Mar  was  pacing 
up  and  down,  now  and  then  scowling  to  himself,  as 
though  there  flashed  over  his  mind  stray  recollections 
of  how  some  of  his  most  cherished  plans  were  mis 
carrying. 

Still,  on  the  whole,  he  had  nothing  to  complain  of. 
For,  a  moment  later  the  valet  entered  with  a  telegram 
for  which  he  had  evidently  been  waiting.  Del  Mar 
seized  it  eagerly  and  tore  open  the  yellow  envelope. 
On  the  blank  was  printed  in  the  usual  way  the  follow 
ing  non-committal  message: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C, 

August  12,  1915. 
MR.  DEL  MAR, 

What  you  request  is  coming.  Answer  to  sign  of  the 
ring. — SMITH. 


THE  FLASH  297 

"  Good,"  muttered  Del  Mar  as  he  finished  reading. 
"  Strange,  what  a  little  gold  will  do — when  you  know 
how  to  dispose  of  it." 

He  smiled  cynically  to  himself  at  the  sentiment. 

At  the  little  railroad  station,  they  were  quite  proud 
of  the  fact  that  at  least  two  of  the  four  hacks  had  been 
replaced  already  by  taxicabs. 

It  was,  then,  with  some  surprise  and  not  a  little  open 
jealousy  that  they  saw  a  new  taxicab  drive  up  and  take 
its  stand  by  the  platform. 

If  the  chauffeur,  transformed  from  the  lonely  fisher 
man,  had  expected  a  cordial  reception,  he  might  better 
have  stayed  before  his  hut,  for  the  glances  the  other 
drivers  gave  him  were  as  black  and  lowering  as  the 
clouds  he  had  been  looking  at. 

The  new  chauffeur  got  off  his  seat.  Instead  of  try 
ing  to  brazen  it  out,  he  walked  over  to  the  others  who 
were  standing  in  a  group  waiting  for  the  approaching 
train  whose  whistle  had  already  sounded. 

"  I'm  not  going  to  locate  here  permanently,"  he  said, 
pulling  out  a  roll  of  bills  as  he  spoke.  "  Leave  any 
fare  I  cln.im  to  me,"  he  added,  passing  a  bill  of  a  good 
denomination  to  each  of  the  four  jehus. 

They  looked  at  him  curiously.  But  what  business 
of  theirs  was  it?  The  money  felt  good. 

"  All  right,  bo,"  they  agreed. 

Thundering  down  the  platform  came  the  afternoon 
train,  a  great  event  in  the  town  life. 

As  the  baggage  was  being  tossed  off,  the  passengers 
alighted  and  the  five  hackmen  swarmed  at  them. 

"  Keb,  sir,  kerridge.    Taxi,  lady !  " 


298  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

From  the  Pullman  alighted  a  widow,  in  deep  mourn 
ing.  As  she  got  off  and  moved  down  the  platform,  it 
was  apparent  that  she  walked  with  a  pronounced  limp. 

At  the  end  of  the  platform,  the  chauffeurs  -vere  still 
calling,  while  the  newcomer  looked  over  the  crowd 
hastily.  Suddenly  he  caught  sight  of  the  face  of  the 
widow.  He  stepped  forward,  as  she  approached.  The 
others  held  back  as  they  had  agreed  and  paid  no  at 
tention.  It  was  like  forcing  a  card. 

He  held  the  door  open  and  she  entered  the  cab,  un 
suspecting.  "  Mr.  Del  Mar's,"  she  directed,  simply. 

As  the  new  taxicab  driver  cranked  his  engine  and 
climbed  into  the  seat,  he  was  careful  to  let  no  action  of 
his,  however  small,  betray  the  intense  satisfaction  he 
felt  at  the  working  of  his  scheme. 

He  pulled  away  from  the  station.  On  through  the 
pretty  country  roads  the  chauffeur  drove  the  heavily 
veiled  widow  until  at  last  they  came  to  Del  Mar's 
bungalow. 

At  the  gate  he  stopped  and  ran  around  to  open  the 
door  to  assist  his  fare  to  alight. 

"  Wait  for  me,"  she  said,  without  paying  him  yet. 
"  I  shall  not  be  long  and  I  want  to  be  driven  back  to  the 
station  to  catch  the  four  twenty-nine  to  New  York." 

As  she  limped  up  the  gravel  walk,  he  watched  her 
closely.  She  went  to  the  door  and  rang  the  bell,  and 
the  valet  admitted  her. 

Del  Mar  was  still  sitting,  thinking,  in  the  library. 

"  Mr.  Del  Mar?  "  she  inquired. 

The  voice  was  not  exactly  soft,  and  Del  Mar  eyed 
her  suspiciously.  Was  this  the  person  he  expected,  or 
a  "plant?" 


THE  FLASH  299 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  guardedly,  "  I  am  Mr.  Del  Mar. 
And  you?  " 

The  widow,  too,  evidently  wished  to  make  no  mis 
take.  As  she  spoke,  she  raised  her  hand.  By  that 
simple  action  she  displayed  a  curious  and  conspicuous 
seal  ring  on  her  ringer.  It  was  the  sign  of  the  ring  for 
which  Del  Mar  had  been  waiting. 

He  extended  his  own  left  hand.  On  the  ring  finger 
was  another  ring,  but  not  similar.  As  he  did  so,  the 
widow  took  the  ring  from  her  own  finger  and  placed  it 
on  the  little  finger  of  Del  Mar. 

"  Good !  "  he  exclaimed. 

Every  action  of  the  sign  of  the  ring  had  been  carried 
out. 

The  woman  raised  her  thick  veil,  disclosing  the  face 
of — a  man ! 

It  was  the  same  face,  also,  that  had  appeared  in  the 
photograph  sent  to  the  old  fisherman  by  Woodward. 

Awkwardly,  the  man  searched  in  the  front  of  his 
shirtwaist  and  drew  forth  a  paper  which  Del  Mar  al 
most  seized  in  his  eagerness.  It  was  a  pen  and  ink 
copy  of  a  Government  map,  showing  a  huge  spit  of 
sand  in  the  sea  before  a  harbor,  Sandy  Hook  and  New 
York.  On  it  were  indicated  all  the  defenses,  the  posi 
tions  of  guns,  everything. 

Together,  Del  Mar  and  Smith  bent  over  it,  while  the 
renegade  clerk  explained  each  mark  on  the  traitorous 
map.  They  were  too  occupied  to  see  a  face  flattened 
against  the  pane  of  a  window  near-by. 

The  chauffeur  had  no  intention  of  remaining  inactive 
outside  while  he  knew  that  something  that  interested 
him  was  transpiring  inside.  He  had  crept  up  by  the 


300  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

side  of  the  house  to  the  window.  But  he  could  see 
little  and  hear  nothing. 

A  moment  he  strained  every  sense.  It  was  no  use. 
He  must  devise  some  other  way.  How  could  he  get 
into  that  room  ?  Slowly  he  returned  to  his  car,  think 
ing  it  over.  There  he  stood  for  a  moment  revolving  in 
his  mind  what  to  do.  He  looked  up  the  road.  An  idea 
came  to  him.  There  he  saw  a  little  runabout  approach 
ing  rapidly. 

Quickly  he  went  around  to  the  front  of  his  car  and 
lifted  up  the  hood.  Then  he  bent  over  and  pretended 
to  be  tinkering  with  his  engine. 

As  the  car  was  about  to  pass  he  deliberately  stepped 
back,  apparently  not  seeing  the  runabout,  and  was 
struck  and  knocked  down. 

The  runabout  stopped,  the  emergency  brakes  biting 
hard. 

Elaine  had  asked  me  to  go  shopping  in  the  village 
with  her  that  afternoon.  While  I  waited  for  her  in  her 
little  car,  she  came  down  at  last,  carrying  a  little  hand 
bag.  We  drove  off  a  moment  later. 

It  was  a  delightful  ride,  not  too  warm,  but  sunny. 
Without  realizing  it,  we  found  ourselves  on  the  road 
that  led  past  Del  Mar's. 

As  we  approached,  I  saw  that  there  was  a  taxicab 
standing  in  front  of  the  gate.  The  hood  was  lifted 
and  the  driver  was  apparently  tinkering  with  his  en 
gine. 

"  Let's  not  stop,"  said  Elaine,  who  had  by  this  time 
a  peculiar  aversion  to  the  man. 

As  we  passed  the  driver,  apparently  not  seeing  us, 


THE  FLASH  301 

stepped  out  and,  before  we  could  turn  out,  we  had 
knocked  him  down.  We  stopped  and  ran  back. 

There  he  lay  on  the  road,  seemingly  unconscious. 
We  lifted  him  up  and  I  looked  toward  Del  Mar's 
house. 

"  Help!  "  I  shouted  at  the  top  of  my  TOICC. 

The  valet  came  to  the  door. 

Hearing  me,  the  valet  ran  out  down  the  walk.  "  All 
right,"  he  cried.  "  I'll  be  there  in  a  minute." 

With  his  help  I  picked  up  the  taxicab  chauffeur  and 
we  carried  him  into  the  house. 

Del  Mar  was  talking  with  a  person  who  looked  like 
a  widow,  when  they  heard  our  approach  up  the  walk 
carrying  the  injured  man. 

So  engrossed  had  they  been  in  discerning  what  the 
stolen  document  contained  that,  as  we  finally  entered, 
the  widow  had  only  time  to  drop  her  veil  and  conceal 
her  identity  as  the  renegade  Smith.  Del  Mar  still  held 
the  plan  in  his  hand. 

The  valet  and  I  entered  with  Elaine  and  we  placed 
ihe  chauffeur  on  a  couch  near  Del  Mar's  desk.  I  re 
member  that  there  was  this  strange  woman  all  in  black, 
heavily  veiled,  in  the  room  at  the  time. 

"  I  think  we  ought  to  telephone  for  a  doctor,"  said 
Elaine  placing  her  hand-bag  on  the  desk  and  excitedly 
telling  Del  Mar  how  we  had  accidently  knocked  the 
man  down. 

"  Call  up  my  doctor,  Henry,"  said  Del  Mar,  hastily 
thrusting  the  plan  into  a  book  lying  on  the  desk. 

We  gathered  about  the  man,  trying  to  revive  him. 

"  Have  you  a  little  stimulant  ?  "  I  asked,  turning 
from  him. 


302  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Del  Mar  moved  toward  a  cellarette  built  into  the 
wall.  We  were  all  watching  him,  our  backs  to  the 
chauffeur,  when  suddenly  he  must  have  regained  con 
sciousness  very  much.  Like  a  flash  his  hand  shot  out. 
He  seized  the  plan  from  between  the  leaves  of  the 
book.  He  had  not  time  to  get  away  with  it  himself. 
Perhaps  he  might  be  searched.  He  opened  Elaine's 
bag,  and  thrust  it  in. 

The  valet  by  this  time  had  finished  telephoning  and 
spoke  to  Del  Mar. 

'  The  doctor  will  be  here  shortly,  Miss  Dodge,"  said 
Del  Mar.  "  You  need  not  wait,  if  you  don't  care  to. 
I'll  take  care  of  him." 

"  Oh,  thank  you — ever  so  much,"  she  murmured. 
"Of  course  it  wasn't  our  fault,  but  I  feel  sorry  for 
the  poor  fellow.  Tell  the  doctor  to  send  me  the  bill." 

She  and  Del  Mar  shook  hands.  I  thought  he  held 
her  hand  perhaps  a  little  longer  and  a  little  tighter 
than  usual.  At  any  rate  Elaine  seemed  to  think  so. 

"  Why,  what  a  curious  ring,  Mr.  Del  Mar,"  she  said, 
finally  releasing  her  own  hand  from  his  grasp. 

Then  she  looked  quickly  at  the  woman,  half  joking, 
as  if  the  ring  had  something  to  do  with  the  strange 
woman.  She  looked  back  at  the  ring.  Del  Mar  smiled, 
shook  his  head  and  laughed  easily. 

Then  Elaine  picked  up  her  bag  and  we  went  out. 
A  moment  later  we  climbed  back  into  the  car  and  were 
off  again. 


Having  left  us  at  the  door,  Del  Mar  hurried  back 
to  the  library.    He  went  straight  to  the  desk  and  picked 


THE  FLASH  303 

up  the  book,  eager  now  to  make  sure  of  the  safety  of 
the  plan. 

It  was  gone ! 

"  Did  you,  Smith — "  he  began  hastily,  then  checked 
himself,  knowing  that  the  clerk  had  not  taken  the 
plan. 

Del  Mar  walked  over  to  the  couch  and  stood  a  mo 
ment  looking  at  the  chauffeur.  "  I  wonder  who  he  is," 
he  said  to  himself.  "  I  don't  recall  ever  seeing  him  at 
the  station  or  in  the  village." 

He  leaned  over  closer.  "  The  deuce ! "  he  exclaimed, 
"  that's  a  fake  beard  the  fellow  has  on." 

Del  Mar  made  a  lunge  for  it.  As  he  did  so,  the 
chauffeur  leaped  to  his  feet  and  drew  a  gun.  "  Hands 
up !  "  he  shouted.  "  And  the  first  man  that  moves  is  a 
dead  one !  " 

Before  the  secret  agent  knew  it,  both  he  and  Smith 
were  covered.  The  chauffeur  took  a  step  toward  Smith 
and  unceremoniously  jerked  off  the  widow's  weeds,  as 
well  as  the  wig. 

At  that  very  moment  one  of  Del  Mar's  men  came  up 
to  the  secret  panel  that  opened  from  the  underground 
passageway  into  his  library.  He  was  about  to  open  it 
when  he  heard  a  sound  on  the  other  side  that  startled 
him.  He  listened  a  moment,  then  slid  it  just  a  short 
distance  and  looked  in. 

There  he  saw  a  chauffeur  holding  up  Del  Mar  and 
Smith.  Having  pulled  the  disguise  from  Smith,  he 
went  next  around  Del  Mar  and  took  his  gun  from  his 
pocket,  then  passed  his  hands  over  the  folds  of  Smith's 
dress,  but  found  no  weapon.  He  stepped  back  away 
from  them. 


304  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

At  that  point  the  man  quietly  slid  the  panel  all  the 
way  open  and  silently  stepped  into  the  room,  behind 
the  chauffeur.  Cautiously  he  began  sneaking  up  on 
him. 

As  he  did  so,  Del  Mar  and  Smith  watched,  fasci 
nated.  Somehow  their  faces  must  have  betrayed  that 
something  was  wrong.  For,  as  the  newcomer  leaped 
at  him,  the  chauffeur  turned  suddenly  and  fired.  The 
shot  wounded  the  man. 

It  was  a  signal  for  a  free-for-all  fight.  Del  Mar 
and  Smith  leaped  at  the  intruder.  Over  and  over  they 
rolled,  breaking  furniture,  overturning  and  smashing 
bric-a-brac. 

Del  Mar's  revolver  was  knocked  out  of  the  chauf 
feur's  hand.  With  a  blow  of  a  chair,  the  chauffeur 
laid  out  Smith,  entangled  in  his  unfamiliar  garments, 
shook  himself  loose  from  the  two  others,  and  made  a 
rush  at  the  door. 

Del  Mar  paused  only  long  enough  to  pick  up  the 
revolver  from  the  floor.  Instantly  he  fired  at  the  re 
treating  form.  But  the  chauffeur  had  passed  out  and 
banged  shut  the  door.  Down  the  walk  he  sped  and 
out  to  the  gate,  into  his  car,  the  engine  of  which  he  had 
left  running. 

Hard  after  him  came  Del  Mar  and  the  rest,  joined 
now  by  Henry,  the  valet.  One  shot  was  left  in  the 
chauffeur's  revolver  and  he  blazed  away  as  he  leaped 
into  the  car. 

"  He's  got  me,"  groaned  Smith  as  he  stumbled  and 
fell  forward. 

On  kept  Del  Mar  and  the  others.  They  caught  up 
with  the  car  just  as  it  was  starting.  But  the  chauffeur 


THE  FLASH  305 

knocked  the  gun  from  Del  Mar's  hand  before  he  could 
get  a  good  aim  and  fire,  at  the  same  time  bowling  over 
the  man  who  had  come  through  the  panel. 

Off  the  car  went,  now  rapidly  gaining  speed.  Del 
Mar  had  just  time  to  swing  on  the  rear  of  it. 

Around  the  rapidly-driven  car,  he  climbed,  hanging 
on  for  dear  life,  over  the  mud-guard  and  toward  the 
running-board.  On  sped  the  car,  swaying  crazily  back 
and  forth,  Del  Mar  crouched  on  the  running-board 
and  working  his  way  slowly  and  perilously  to  the  front 
seat. 

The  chauffeur  felt  the  weight  of  some  one  on  that 
side.  Just  as  he  turned  to  see  what  it  was,  Del  Mar 
leaped  at  him.  Still  holding  the  wheel,  the  chauffeur 
fought  him  off  with  his  free  hand,  Del  Mar  holding 
on  to  some  spare  tires  with  one  hand,  also.  Handi 
capped  by  having  the  steering-wheel  to  manage,  never 
theless  the  chauffeur  seemed  quite  well  able  to  give  a 
good  account  of  himself. 


Somehow,  Elaine  and  I  must  have  been  hoodooed 
that  day. 

We  had  not  been  gone  five  minutes  from  Del  Mar' 5 
after  the  accident  to  the  chauffeur,  when  we  heard  a 
mysterious  knock  in  the  engine. 

"  More  engine  trouble,"  I  sighed.  "  Pull  up  along 
the  road  and  I'll  see  if  I  can  fix  it." 

We  stopped  and  both  got  out.  There  was  no  fake 
about  this  trouble  or  about  the  dirt  and  grease  I  ac 
quired  on  my  hands  and  face,  tinkering  with  that  mo 
tor.  For,  regardless  of  my  immaculate  flannels,  I  had 

20 


306  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

to  set  to  work.  A  huge  spot  of  grease  spattered  on 
me.  Elaine  laughed  outright. 

"  Here,  let  me  powder  your  nose,  Walter,"  she  cried 
undismayed  at  our  trouble,  gayly  opening  her  bag, 
"  Well — of  all  things — what's  this,  and  where  did  it 
come  from  ?  " 

I  turned  from  the  engine  and  looked.  She  was  hold 
ing  some  kind  of  plan  or  document  in  her  hand.  In 
blank  surprise  she  examined  it.  It  looked  like  a  fort 
or  a  series  of  forts.  But  I  was  sure  at  a  glance  that  it 
was  not  Fort  Dale. 

"  What  do  you  think  it  is,  Walter  ?  "  she  asked,  hand 
ing  it  to  me. 

I  took  it  and  examined  it  carefully.  Incredible  asv 
it  seemed,  I  figured  out  quhkly  that  it  must  be  noth 
ing  short  of  a  plan  of  the  new  defenses  at  Sandy 
Hook. 

"  I  don't  know  what  it  all  means,"  I  said.  "  But  I 
do  know  that  we  won't  get  any  dinner  till  I  get  this 
engine  running  again." 

I  fell  to  work  again,  eager  to  get  away  with  our 
dangerous  prize,  Elaine  now  and  then  advising  me. 
Finally  I  turned  the  engine  over.  For  a  wonder  it  ran 
smoothly.  "  Well,  that's  all  right,  at  last,"  I  sighed, 
wiping  the  grease  off  my  hands  on  a  piece  of  waste. 

"  What's  the  matter  now?  "  exclaimed  Elaine,  turn 
ing  quickly  and  looking  up  the  road  along  which  we 
had  just  come. 

There,  lurching  along  at  full  speed  was  a  car.  Two 
men  were  actually  fighting  on  the  front  of  it  regard 
less  of  speed  and  safety.  As  it  neared  us,  I  saw  it  was 
the  taxicab  that  had  been  standing  before  Del  Mar's. 


THE  FLASH  307 

1  looked  closer  at  it.  To  my  utter  amazement,  who 
should  be  driving  it  but  the  very  chauffeur  whom  we 
had  left  at  Del  Mar's  only  a  few  minutes  before,  ap 
parently  unconscious.  He  could  not  have  been  hurt 
very  badly,  for  he  was  not  only  able  to  drive  but  was 
fighting  off  a  man  clinging  on  the  running-board. 

On  rushed  the  car,  directly  at  us.  Just  as  it  passed 
us,  the  chauffeur  seemed  to  summon  all  his  strength. 
He  struck  a  powerful  blow  at  the  man,  recoiled  and 
straightened  out  his  car  just  in  time.  The  man  fell, 
literally  at  our  feet. 

It  was  Del  Mar  himself! 

On  sped  the  taxicab.  Bruised  though  he  must  have 
been  by  the  fall,  Del  Mar  nevertheless  raised  himself 
by  the  elbow  and  fired  every  chamber  of  his  revolver 
as  fast  as  he  could  pump  the  bullets. 

I  must  say  that  I  admired  the  man's  pluck.  Elaine 
and  I  hurried  over  to  him.  I  still  had  in  my  hand  the 
queer  paper  which  she  had  found  so  strangely  in  her 
hand-bag. 

"  Why,  what's  all  this  about  ?  "  I  asked  eagerly. 

Before  I  could  raise  him  up,  Del  Mar  had  regained 
his  feet. 

"  Just  a  plain  crook,  who  attacked  me,"  he  muttered, 
brushing  off  his  clothes  to  cover  up  the  quick  recogni 
tion  of  what  it  was  that  I  was  holding  in  my  hand,  for 
he  had  seen  the  plan  immediately. 

"Can't  we  drive  you  back?"  asked  Elaine,  quite 
forgetting  our  fears  of  Del  Mar  in  the  ugly  predica 
ment  in  which  he  just  had  been.  "  We've  had  trouble 
but  I  guess  we  can  get  you  back." 

"  Thank  you,"  he  said,  forcing  a  smile.     "  I  think 


308  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

anything  would  be  an  improvement  on  my  ride  here 
and  I'm  sure  you  can  do  more  than  you  claim." 

He  climbed  up  and  sat  on  the  floor  of  the  roadster, 
his  feet  outside,  and  we  drove  off.  At  last  we  pulled 
up  at  Dodge  Hall  again. 

"  Won't  you  come  in?  "  asked  Elaine  as  we  got  out. 

"  Thank  you,  I  believe  I  will  for  a  few  minutes," 
consented  Del  Mar,  concealing  his  real  eagerness  to 
follow  me.  "  I'm  all  shaken  up." 

As  we  entered  the  living-room,  I  was  thinking  about 
the  map.  I  opened  a  table  drawer,  hastily  took  the 
plan  from  my  pocket  and  locked  it  in  the  drawer. 
Elaine,  meanwhile,  was  standing  with  Del  Mar  who 
was  talking,  but  in  reality  watching  me  closely. 

A  smile  of  satisfaction  seemed  to  flit  over  his  face 
as  he  saw  what  I  had  done  and  now  knew  where  the 
paper  was. 

I  turned  to  him.     "  How  are  you  now  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Oh,  I'm  much  better — all  right,"  he  answered. 
Then  he  looked  at  his  watch.  "  I've  a  very  important 
appointment.  If  you'll  excuse  me,  I'll  walk  over  to  my 
place.  Thank  you  again,  Miss  Dodge,  ever  so  kindly." 

He  bowed  low  and  was  gone. 

Down  the  road  past  where  we  had  turned,  before  a 
pretty  little  shingle  house,  the  taxicab  chauffeur 
stopped.  One  of  the  bullets  had  taken  effect  on  him 
and  his  shoulder  was  bleeding.  But  the  worst,  as  he 
seemed  to  think  it,  was  that  another  shot  had  given 
him  a  flat  tire. 

He  jumped  out  and  looked  up  the  road  whence  he 
had  come.  No  one  was  following.  Still,  he  was  \vor- 


THE  FLASH  309 

ried.  He  went  around  to  look  at  the  tire.  But  he  was 
too  weak  now  from  loss  of  blood.  It  had  been  nerve 
and  reserve  force  that  had  carried  him  through.  Now 
that  the  strain  was  off,  he  felt  the  reaction  to  the  full. 

Just  then  the  doctor  and  his  driver,  whom  the  valet 
had  already  summoned  to  Del  Mar's,  came  speeding 
down  the  road.  The  doctor  saw  the  chauffeur  fall  in 
a  half  faint,  stopped  his  car  and  ran  to  him.  The 
chauffeur  had  kept  up  as  long  as  he  could.  He  had 
now  sunk  down  beside  his  machine  in  the  road. 

A  moment  later  they  picked  him  up  and  carried  him 
into  the  house.  There  was  no  acting  about  his  hurts 
now.  In  the  house  they  laid  the  man  down  on  a  couch 
and  the  doctor  made  a  hasty  examination. 

"  How  is  he? "  asked  one  of  the  kind  Samaritans. 

"  The  wound  is  not  dangerous,"  replied  the  physi 
cian,  "  but  he's  lost  a  lot  of  blood.  He  cannot  be  moved 
for  some  time  yet." 

We  talked  about  nothing  else  at  Dodge  Hall  after 
dressing  for  dinner  but  the  strange  events  over  at  Del 
Mar's  and  what  had  followed.  The  more  I  thought 
about  it,  the  more  it  seemed  to  me  that  we  would  never 
be  left  over  night  in  peaceful  possession  of  the  plan 
which  both  Elaine  and  I  decided  ought  on  the  following 
day  to  be  sent  to  Washington. 

Accordingly  I  cudgelled  my  brain  for  some  method 
of  protecting  both  ourselves  and  it.  The  only  thing  I 
could  think  of  was  a  scheme  once  adopted  by  Kennedy 
in  another  case.  How  I  longed  for  him.  But  I  had  to 
do  my  best  alone. 

I  had  a  small  quick  shutter  camera  that  had  belonged 


310  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

to  Craig  and  just  as  we  were  about  to  retire,  I  brought 
it  into  the  living-room  with  a  package  I  had  had  sent 
up  from  the  village. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  asked  Elaine  curi 
ously. 

I  assumed  an  air  of  mystery  but  did  not  say,  for  I 
was  not  sure  but  that  even  now  some  one  was  eaves 
dropping.  It  was  not  late,  but  the  country  air  made  us 
all  sleepy  and  Aunt  Josephine,  looking  at  the  clock, 
soon  announced  that  she  was  going  to  retire. 

She  had  no  sooner  said  good-night  than  Elaine  be 
gan  again  to  question  me.  But  I  had  determined  not  to 
tell  her  what  I  was  doing,  for  if  my  imitation  of  Ken 
nedy  failed,  I  knew  that  she  would  laugh  at  me. 

"  Oh,  very  well,"  she  said  finally  in  pique,  "  then,  if 
you're  going  to  be  so  secret  about  it,  you  can  sit  up 
alone — there !  " 

She  flounced  off  to  bed.  Sure  as  I  could  be  at  last 
that  I  was  alone,  I  opened  the  package.  There  were 
the  tools  that  I  had  ordered,  a  coil  of  wire  and  some 
dry  cells.  Then  I  went  to  the  table,  unlocked  the 
drawer  and  put  the  plan  in  my  pocket.  I  had  deter 
mined  that  whether  the  idea  worked  or  not,  no  one  was 
to  get  the  plan  except  by  overcoming  me. 

Although  I  was  no  expert  at  wiring,  I  started  to 
make  the  connections  under  the  table  with  the  drawer, 
not  a  very  difficult  thing  to  do  as  long  as  it  was  to  be 
only  temporary  and  for  the  night.  From  the  table  I 
ran  the  wires  along  the  edge  of  the  carpet  until  I  came 
to  the  book-case.  There,  masked  by  the  books,  I 
placed  the  little  quick  shutter  camera,  and  at  a  distance 
also  concealed  the  flash-light  pan. 


THE  FLASH  311 

Next  I  aimed  the  camera  carefully  and  focussed  it 
on  a  point  above  the  drawer  on  the  writing-table  where 
any  one  would  be  likely  to  stand  if  he  attempted  to 
open  it.  Then  I  connected  the  shutter  of  the  camera 
and  a  little  spark  coil  in  the  flash-pan  with  the  wires, 
using  an  apparatus  to  work  the  shutter  such  as  I  re 
called  having  seen  Craig  use.  Finally  I  covered  the 
sparking  device  with  the  flash-light  powder,  gave  a 
last  look  about  and  snapped  off  the  light. 

Up  in  my  bedroom,  I  must  say  I  felt  like  "  some  " 
detective  and  I  could  not  help  slapping  myself  on  the 
chest  for  the  ingenuity  with  which  I  had  duplicated 
Craig. 

Then  I  lay  down  on  the  bed  with  my  clothes  on  and 
picked  up  a  book,  determined  to  keep  awake  to  see  if 
anything  happened.  It  was  a  good  book,  but  I  was 
tired  and  in  spite  of  myself  I  nodded  over  it,  and  then 
dropped  it. 

In  his  bungalow,  now  that  Smith  had  gone  back 
again  to  New  York  and  Washington,  Del  Mar  was  pre 
paring  to  keep  the  important  engagement  he  had  told 
us  about,  another  of  his  nefarious  nocturnal  expedi 
tions. 

He  drew  a  cap  on  his  head,  well  over  his  ears  and 
forehead.  His  eyes  and  face  he  concealed  as  well  as 
he  could  with  a  mask  to  be  put  on  later.  To  his  equip 
ment  he  added  a  gun.  Then  with  a  hasty  word  or  two 
to  his  valet,  he  went  out. 

By  back  ways  so  that  even  in  the  glare  of  automo 
bile  headlights  he  would  not  be  recognized,  he  made  his 
way  to  Dodge  Hall.  As  he  saw  the  house  looming  up 


312  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

in  the  moonlight  he  put  on  his  mask  and  approached 
cautiously.  Gaining  the  house,  he  opened  a  window, 
noiselessly  turning  the  catch  as  deftly  as  a  house 
breaker,  and  climbed  into  the  living-room. 

A  moment  he  looked  around,  then  tiptoed  over  to 
the  table.  He  looked  at  it  to  be  sure  that  it  was  the 
right  one  and  the  right  drawer.  Then  he  bent  down  to 
force  the  drawer  open. 

"  Pouf ! "  a  blinding  flash  came  and  a  little  metallic 
click  of  the  shutter,  followed  by  a  cloud  of  smoke. 

As  quick  as  it  happened,  there  went  through  Del 
Mar's  head,  the  explanation.  It  was  a  concealed  cam 
era.  He  sprang  back,  clapping  his  hands  over  his  face. 
Out  of  range  for  a  moment,  he  stood  gazing  about  the 
room,  trying  to  locate  the  thing. 

Suddenly  he  heard  footsteps.  He  dived  through  the 
window  that  he  had  opened,  just  as  some  one  ran  in 
and  switched  on  the  lights. 

Half  asleep,  I  heard  a  muffled  explosion,  as  if  of  a 
flash-light.  I  started  up  and  listened.  Surely  some 
one  was  moving  about  down-stairs.  I  pulled  my  gun 
from  my  pocket  and  ran  out  of  the  room.  Down  the 
steps  I  flung  myself,  two  at  a  time. 

In  the  living-room,  I  switched  on  the  lights  in  time 
to  see  some  one  disappear  through  an  open  window.  I 
ran  to  the  window  and  looked  out.  There  was  a  man, 
half  doubled  up,  running  around  the  side  of  the  house 
and  into  a  clump  of  bushes,  then  apparently  lost.  I 
shot  out  of  the  window  and  called. 

My  only  answer  was  an  imprecation  and  return  vol 
ley  that  shattered  the  glass  above  my  head.  I  ducked 


THE  FLASH  313 

hastily  and  fell  flat  on  the  floor,  for  in  the  light  stream 
ing  out,  I  must  have  been  a  good  mark. 

I  was  not  the  only  one  who  heard  the  noise.  The 
shots  quickly  awakened  Elaine  and  she  leaped  ou'-  of 
bed  and  put  on  her  kimono.  Then  she  lighted  the 
lights  and  ran  down-stairs. 

The  intruder  had  disappeared  by  this  time  and  I  had 
got  up  and  was  peering  out  of  the  window  as  she  came 
breathlessly  into  the  living-room. 

"  What's  the  matter,  Walter?  "  she  asked. 

"  Some  one  broke  into  the  house  after  those  plans," 
I  replied.  "  He  escaped,  but  I  got  his  picture,  I  think, 
by  this  device  of  Kennedy's.  Let's  go  into  a  dark  room 
and  develop  it." 

There  was  no  use  trying  to  follow  the  man  further. 
To  Elaine's  inquiry  of  what  I  meant,  I  replied  by 
merely  going  over  to  the  spot  where  I  had  hidden  the 
camera  and  disconnecting  it. 

We  went  up-stairs  where  I  had  rigged  up  an  im 
promptu  dark  room  for  my  amateur  photographic 
work  some  days  before.  Elaine  watched  me  closely. 
At  last  I  found  that  I  had  developed  something.  As 
I  drew  the  film  through  the  hypo  tray  and  picked  it  up, 
I  held  it  to  the  red  light. 

Elaine  leaned  over  and  looked  at  the  film  with  me. 
There  was  a  picture  of  a  masked  man,  his  cap  down, 
in  a  startled  attitude,  his  hands  clapped  to  his  face, 
completely  hiding  what  the  mask  and  cap  did  not  hide. 

"  Well,  I'll  be  blowed !  "  I  cried  in  chagrin  at  the  out 
come  of  what  I  thought  had  been  my  cleverest  coup. 

A  little  exclamation  of  astonishment  escaped  Elaine. 
I  turned  to  her.  "  What  is  it?  "  I  asked. 


314  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  The  ring !  "  she  cried. 

I  looked  again  more  closely.  On  the  little  finger  of 
the  left  hand  was  a  peculiar  ring.  Once  seen,  I  think 
it  v/as  not  readily  forgotten. 

"  The  ring !  "  she  repeated  excitedly.  "  Don't  you 
remember — that  ring?  I  saw  it  on  Mr.  Del  Mar's 
hand — at  his  house — this  afternoon !  " 

I  could  only  stare. 

At  last  we  had  a  real  clue ! 

In  his  bungalow,  Del  Mar  at  that  moment  threw 
down  his  hat  and  tore  off  his  mask  furiously. 

What  had  he  done? 

For  a  long  time  he  sat  there,  his  chin  on  his  hand, 
gazing  fixedly  before  him,  planning  to  protect  himself 
and  revenge. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS 

IT  was  early  the  following  morning  that,  very  ex 
cited,  Elaine  and  I  showed  Aunt  Josephine  the  photo 
graph  which  we  had  snapped  and  developed  by  using 
Kennedy's  trick  method. 

"  But  who  is  it  ?  "  asked  Aunt  Josephine  examining 
the  print  carefully  and  seeing  nothing  but  a  face 
masked  and  with  a  pair  of  hands  before  it,  a  seal  ring 
on  the  little  finger  of  one  hand. 

"  Oh,  I  forgot  that  you  hadn't  seen  the  ring  before," 
explained  Elaine.  "  Why,  we  knew  him  at  once,  in 
spite  of  everything,  by  that  seal  ring — Mr.  Del  Mar!  " 

"  Mr.  Del  Mar?  "  repeated  Aunt  Josephine,  looking 
from  one  to  the  other  of  us,  incredulous. 

"  I  saw  the  ring  at  his  own  bungalow  and  on  his  own 
finger,"  reiterated  Elaine  positively. 

"  But  what  are  you  going  to  do,  now?  "  asked  Aunt 
Josephine. 

"  Have  him  arrested,  of  course,"  Elaine  replied. 

Still  talking  over  the  strange  experience  of  the  night 
before,  we  went  out  on  the  veranda. 

"  Well,  of  all  the  nerve !  "  exclaimed  Elaine,  catch 
ing  sight  of  a  man  coming  up  the  gravel  walk.  "  If 
that  isn't  Henry,  Mr.  Del  Mar's  valet !  " 

The  valet  advanced  as  though  nothing  had  happened 
315 


316  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

and,  indeed,  I  suppose  that  as  far  as  he  knew  nothing 
had  happened  or  was  known  to  us.  He  bowed  and 
handed  Elaine  a  note  which  she  tore  open  quickly  and 
read. 

"  Would  you  go?  "  she  asked,  handing  the  note  over 
to  me. 

It  read: 

DEAR  Miss  DODGE, 

If  you  and  Mr.  Jameson  will  call  on  me  to-day,  I 
will  have  something  of  interest  to  tell  you  concerning 
my  investigations  in  the  case  of  the  disappearance  of 
Craig  Kennedy. 

Sincerely, 

M.  DEL  MAR. 

"  Yes,"  I  asserted,  "  I  would  go." 

Tell  Mr.  Del  Mar  we  shall  see  him  as  soon  as  pos 
sible,"  nodded  Elaine  to  the  valet  who  bowed  and  left 
quickly. 

"What  is  it?"  inquired  Aunt  Josephine,  rejoining 
us. 

"  A  note  from  Mr.  Del  Mar,"  replied  Elaine  show 
ing  it  to  her. 

"  Well,"  queried  Aunt  Josephine,  "  what  are  you 
going  to  do?  " 

"  We're  going,  of  course,"  cried  Elaine. 

"  You're  not,"  blurted  out  Aunt  Josephine.  "  Why, 
just  think.  He's  sure  to  do  something." 

But  Elaine  and  I  had  made  up  our  minds. 

"  I  know  it,"  I  interjected.  •"  He's  sure  to  try  some 
thing  that  will  show  his  hand — and  then  I've  got  him." 

Perhaps  I  threw  out  my  chest  a  little  more  than  was 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        317 

necessary,  but  then  I  figured  that  Elaine  with  her  usual 
intuition  had  for  once  agreed  with  me  and  that  it  must 
be  ail  right.  I  drew  my  gun  and  twirled  the  cylinder 
about  as  I  spoke.  Indeed  I  felt,  since  the  success  of  the 
snapshot  episode,  that  I  was  a  match  for  several  Del 
Mar's. 

"  Yes,  Walter  is  right,"  agreed  Elaine. 

Aunt  Josephine  continued  to  shake  her  head  sagely 
in  protest.  But  Elaine  waved  all  her  protestations  aside 
and  ran  into  the  house  to  get  ready  for  the  visit. 

Half  an  hour  later,  two  saddle  horses  were  brought 
around  to  the  front  of  Dodge  Hall  and  Elaine  and  I 
sallied  forth. 

Aunt  Josephine  was  still  protesting  against  our  going 
to  Del  Mar's,  but  we  had  made  up  our  minds  to  carry 
the  thing  through.  "  You  know,"  she  insisted,  "  that 
Mr.  Kennedy  is  not  around  to  protect  you  two  children. 
Something  will  surely  happen  to  you  if  you  don't  keep 
out  of  this  affair." 

"  Oh,  Auntie,"  laughed  Elaine,  a  bit  nervously,  how 
ever,  "  don't  be  a  kill-joy.  Suppose  Craig  isn't  about? 
Who's  going  to  do  this,  if  Walter  and  I  don't?  " 

In  spite  of  all,  we  mounted  and  rode  away. 

Del  Mar,  still  continuing  his  nefarious  work  of 
mining  American  harbors  and  bridges,  had  arrived  at 
a  scheme  as  soon  as  he  returned  from  the  attempt  to 
get  back  from  uz  the  Sandy  Hook  plans.  Smith,  who 
had  stolen  the  plans  from  the  War  Department,  was 
still  at  the  bungalow. 

Early  in  the  morning,  Del  Mar  had  seated  himself 
at  his  desk  and  wrote  a  letter. 


3i8          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

"  Here,  Henry,"  he  directed  his  valet,  "  take  this  to 
Miss  Dodge." 

As  the  valet  went  out,  he  wrote  another  note. 
"  Read  that,"  he  said,  handing  it  over  to  Smith.  "  It's 
a  message  I  want  you  to  take  to  headquarters  right 
away." 

It  was  worded  cryptically: 

A.  A.  L. 

N.  Y. 

Closely  watched.  Must  act  soon  or  all  will  be  dis 
covered. — M. 

Smith  read  the  note,  nodded,  and  put  it  into  his 
pocket,  as  he  started  to  the  door. 

"  No,  no,"  shouted  Del  Mar,  calling  him  back. 
"  This  thing  means  that  you'll  have  to  be  careful  in 
your  getaway.  You'd  better  go  out  through  my  secret 
passage,"  he  added,  pointing  to  the  panel  in  the  library 
wall. 

He  pressed  the  button  on  the  desk  and  Smith  left 
through  the  hidden  passage.  Down  it  he  groped  and 
at  the  other  end  emerged.  Seeing  no  one  around,  he 
made  his  way  to  the  road.  There  seemed  to  be  no  one 
who  looked  at  all  suspicious  on  the  road,  either,  and 
Smith  congratulated  himself  on  his  easy  escape. 

On  a  bridge  over  a  creek,  however,  as  Smith  ap 
proached,  was  one  inoffensive-looking  person  who 
might  have  been  a  minister  or  a  professor.  He  was 
leaning  on  the  rail  in  deep  thought,  gazing  at  the  creek 
that  ran  beneath  him,  and  now  and  then  flashing  a 
sharp  glance  about. 

Suddenly  he  saw  something  approaching.    Instantly 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        319 

he  dodged  to  the  farther  end  of  the  bridge  and  took 
refuge  behind  a  tree.  Smith  walked  on  over  the 
bridge,  oblivious  to  the  fact  that  he  was  watched.  No 
sooner  had  he  disappeared  than  the  inquisitive  stranger 
emerged  again  from  behind  the  tree. 

It  was  the  mysterious  Professor  Arnold  who  many 
times  had  shown  a  peculiar  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
Elaine  and  myself. 

Evidently  he  had  recognized  Del  Mar's  messenger, 
for  after  watching  him  a  moment  he  turned  and  fol 
lowed. 

At  the  railroad  station,  just  before  the  train  for 
New  York  pulled  in,  the  waiting  crowd  was  increased 
,by  one  stranger.  Smith  had  come  in  and  taken  his 
place  unostentatiously  among  them. 

But  if  he  thought  he  was  to  be  lost  in  the  little  crowd, 
he  was  much  mistaken.  Arnold  had  followed,  but  not 
so  quickly  that  he  had  not  had  time  to  pick  up  the  two 
policemen  that  the  town  boasted,  both  of  whom  were 
down  at  the  station  at  the  time. 

"  There  he  is,"  indicated  Arnold,  "  the  fellow  with 
the  slight  limp.  Bring  him  to  my  room  in  the  St. 
Germain  Hotel." 

"  All  right,  sir,"  replied  the  officers,  edging  their 
way  to  the  platform  as  Arnold  retreated  back  of  the 
station  and  disappeared  up  the  street. 

Just  then  the  train  pulled  into  the  station  and  the 
passengers  crowded  forward  to  mount  the  steps. 
Smith  was  just  about  to  push  his  way  on  with  them, 
when  the  officers  elbowed  through  the  crowd. 

"  You're  wanted,"  hissed  one  of  them,  seizing  his 
shoulder. 


320  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

But  Smith,  in  spite  of  his  deformity,  was  not  one  to 
submit  to  arrest  without  a  struggle.  He  fought  them 
off  and  broke  away,  running  toward  the  baggage- 
room. 

As  he  rushed  in,  they  followed.  One  of  them  was 
gaining  on  him  and  took  a  flying  football  tackle.  The 
other  almost  fell  over  the  twisted  mass  of  arms  and 
legs.  The  struggle  now  was  short  and  sharp  and 
ended  in  the  officers  slipping  the  bracelets  over  the 
wrists  of  Smith.  While  the  passengers  and  bystanders 
crowded  about  to  watch  the  excitement,  they  led  him 
off  quickly. 


In  his  rooms  at  the  St.  Germain,  cluttered  with 
test  tubes  and  other  paraphernalia  which  indicated  his 
scientific  tendencies,  Professor  Arnold  entered  and 
threw  off  his  hat,  lighting  a  cigarette  and  waiting  im 
patiently. 

He  had  not  as  long  to  wait  as  he  had  expected.  A 
knock  sounded  at  the  door  and  he  opened  it.  There 
was  Smith  handcuffed  and  forced  in  by  the  two  police 
men. 

"  Good  work,"  commended  Arnold,  at  once  setting 
to  work  to  search  the  prisoner  who  fumed  but  could 
not  resist. 

"  What  have  we  here  ?  "  drawled  Arnold  in  mock 
courtesy  and  surprise  as  he  found  and  drew  forth 
from  Smith's  pocket  a  bundle  of  papers,  which  he 
hastily  ran  through. 

"  Ah !  "  he  muttered,  coming  to  Del  Mar's  note, 
which  he  opened  and  read.  "  What's  this  ?  '  A.  A.  L. 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        321 

N.  Y.  Closely  watched.  Must  act  soon  or  all  will  be 
discovered.  M.'  Now,  what's  all  that?  " 

Arnold  pondered  the  text  deeply.  "  You  may  take 
him  away,  now,"  he  concluded,  glancing  up  from  the 
note  to  the  officers.  "  Thank  you." 

"  All  right,  sir,"  they  returned,  prodding  Smith 
along  out. 

Still  studying  the  note,  Arnold  sat  down  at  the  desk. 
Thoughtfully  he  picked  up  a  pencil.  Under  the  let 
ters  A.  A.  L.  he  slowly  wrote  "  Anti-American 
League  "  and  under  the  initial  M  the  name,  "  Martin." 

"  Now  is  the  time,  if  ever,  to  use  that  new  telapho- 
tograph  instrument  which  I  have  installed  for  the  War 
Department  in  Washington  and  carry  around  with 
me,"  he  said  to  himself,  rising  and  going  to  a  closet. 

He  took  out  a  large  instrument  composed  of  innu 
merable  coils  and  a  queer  battery  of  selenium  cells.  It 
was  the  receiver  of  the  new  instrument  by  which  a 
photograph  could  be  sent  over  a  telegraph  wire. 

Down-stairs,  in  the  telegraph  room  of  the  hotel, 
Arnold  secured  the  services  of  one  of  the  operators. 
Evidently  by  the  way  they  obeyed  him  they  had  re 
ceived  orders  from  the  company  regarding  him,  and 
knew  him  well  there. 

"  I  wish  you'd  send  this  message  right  away  to 
Washington,"  he  said,  handing  in  a  blank  he  had  al 
ready  written. 

The  clerk  checked  it  over: 

U.  S.  WAR  DEPARTMENT, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Wire  me  immediately  photograph  and  personal  his- 
21 


322  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

tory  of  Martin  arrested  two  years  ago  as  head  of  Anti- 
'American  League. — ARNOLD. 

As  the  message  was  ticked  off,  Arnold  attached  his 
^receiving  telaphotograph  instrument  to  another  wire. 

It  was  a  matter  scarcely  of  seconds  before  a  message 
was  flashed  back  to  Arnold  from  Washington : 

Martin  escaped  from  Fort  Leavenworth  six  months 
ago.  Thought  to  be  in  Europe.  Photograph  follows. 

EDWARDS. 

"  Very  well,"  nodded  Arnold  with  satisfaction.  "  I 
think  I  know  what  is  going  on  here  now.  Let  us  wait 
for  the  photograph." 

He  went  over  to  the  new  selenium  telaphotograph 
and  began  adjusting  it. 

Far  away,  in  Washington,  in  a  room  in  the  War  De 
partment  where  Arnold  had  already  installed  his  sys 
tem  for  the  secret  government  service,  a  clerk  was  also 
working  over  the  sending  part  of  the  apparatus. 

No  sooner  had  the  clerk  finished  his  preparations  and 
placed  a  photograph  in  the  transmitter  than  the  buz 
zing  of  the  receiver  which  Arnold  had  installed  an 
nounced  to  him  that  the  marvellous  transmission  of  a 
picture  over  a  wire,  one  of  the  very  newest  triumphs 
of  science,  was  in  progress.  In  the  little  telegraph 
office  of  the  St.  Germain,  the  clerks  and  operators 
crowded  about  Arnold,  watching  breathlessly. 

"  By  Jove,  it  works !  "  cried  one,  no  longer  sceptical. 

Slowly  a  print  was  being  evolved  before  their  eyes 
as  if  by  a  spirit  hand.  Arnold  watched  the  synchro- 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        323 

nizer  apparatus  carefully  as,  point  after  point,  the  pic 
ture  developed.  He  bent  over  closely,  his  attention 
devoted  to  every  part  of  the  complicated  apparatus. 

At  last  the  transmission  of  the  photograph  was  com 
pleted  and  the  machine  came  to  rest.  Arnold  almost 
tore  the  print  from  the  receiver  and  held  it  up  to  ex 
amine  it. 

A  smile  of  intense  satisfaction  crossed  his  face. 

"  At  last !  "  he  muttered. 

There  was  a  photograph  of  the  man  who  had  been 
identified  with  the  arch  conspirators  of  two  years  be 
fore,  Martin.  Only,  now  he  had  changed  his  name  and 
appeared  in  a  new  role. 

It  was  Marcius  Del  Mar! 

Already,  in  the  library  of  his  bungalow,  Del  Mar 
had  summoned  one  of  his  trusted  men  and  was  talking 
to  him,  when  Henry,  the  valet,  reentered  after  his  trip 
to  see  us. 

"  They're  coming  as  soon  as  they  can,"  he  reported. 

Del  Mar  smiled  a  cynical  smile.  "  Good,"  he  ex 
claimed  triumphantly,  then,  looking  about  at  the  elec 
tric  fixtures,  added  to  the  man,  "  Let  us  see  where  to 
install  the  thing." 

He  walked  over  to  the  door  and  put  his  hand  on  the 
knob,  then  pointed  back  at  the  fixtures. 

"  That's  the  idea,"  he  cried.  "  You  can  run  the  line 
from  the  brackets  to  this  door-knob  and  the  mat. 
How's  that?" 

"  Very  clever,"  flattered  the  man,  putting  on  a  heavy 
pair  of  rubber  gloves. 

Taking  a  pair  of  pliers  and  other  tools  from  a  closet 


324  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

in  the  library,  he  began  removing  the  electric  fixture 
from  the  wall.  As  Del  Mar  directed,  the  man  ran  a 
wire  from  the  fixture  along  the  moulding,  and  down 
the  side  of  a  door,  where  he  made  a  connection. 

In  the  meantime  Del  Mar  brought  out  a  wire  mat 
and  laid  it  in  front  of  the  door  where  any  one  who  en 
tered  or  left  would  be  sure  to  step  on  it.  The  various 
connections  made,  the  man  placed  a  switch  in  the  con 
cealment  of  a  heavily-curtained  window  and  replaced 
everything  as  he  found  it. 

Thus  it  was  that  Elaine  and  I  came  at  last  to  Del 
Mar's  bungalow,  I  must  admit,  with  some  misgivings. 
But  I  had  gone  too  far  to  draw  back  now  and  Elaine 
was  more  eager  even  than  I  was.  We  dismounted, 
tethered  our  horses  and  went  toward  the  house,  where 
I  rang  the  bell. 

Preparations  for  our  reception  had  just  been  com 
pleted  and  Del  Mar  was  issuing  his  final  instructions 
to  his  man,  when  the  valet,  Henry,  ran  in  hastily. 

"  They're  here,  sir,  now,"  he  announced  excitedly. 

"  All  right,  I'm  ready,"  nodded  Del  Mar,  turning 
to  his  man  again  and  indicating  a  place  back  of  the 
folds  of  the  heavy  curtains  by  the  window.  "  You  get 
back  there  by  that  switch.  Don't  move — don't  even 
breathe.  Now,  Henry,  let  them  in." 

As  his  valet  withdrew  Del  Mar  gazed  about  his  li 
brary  to  make  sure  that  everything  was  all  right.  Just 
then  the  valet  reappeared  and  ushered  us  in. 

"Good  morning,"  greeted  Del  Mar  pleasantly. 
"  I  see  that  you  got  my  note  and  I'm  glad  you  were  so 
prompt.  Won't  you  be  seated?" 

Both  Elaine  and  I  were  endeavoring  to  appear  at 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        325 

ease.  But  there  was  a  decided  tension  in  the  atmos 
phere.  We  sat  down,  however.  Del  Mar  did  not 
seem  to  notice  anything  wrong. 

"  I've  something  at  last  to  report  to  you  about  Ken 
nedy,"  he  said  a  moment  later,  clearing  his  throat. 

Aunt  Josephine  turned  from  us  as  Elaine  and  I  rode 
off  on  our  horses  from  Dodge  Hall  considerably  wor 
ried. 

Then  an  idea  seemed  to  occur  to  her  and  she  walked 
determinedly  into  the  house. 

"  Jennings,"  she  called  to  the  butler,  "  have  the 
limousine  brought  around  from  the  garage  immedi 
ately." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  acquiesced  the  faithful  Jennings, 
hurrying  out. 

It  was  only  a  few  minutes  later  that  the  car  pulled 
around  before  the  door.  Aunt  Josephine  bustled  out 
and  entered. 

"  Fort  Dale,"  she  directed  the  driver,  greatly  agi 
tated.  "  Ask  for  Lieutenant  Woodward." 

Out  at  Fort  Dale,  Woodward  was  much  astonished 
when  an  orderly  announced  that  Aunt  Josephine  was 
waiting  in  her  car  to  see  him  on  very  urgent  business. 
He  ordered  that  she  be  admitted  at  once. 

"  I  hope  there's  nothing  wrong?"  he  inquired  anx 
iously,  as  he  noted  the  excitement  and  the  worried 
look  on  her  face. 

"  I — I'm  afraid  there  may  be,"  she  replied,  sitting 
down  and  explaining  what  Elaine  and  I  had  just  done. 

The  Lieutenant  listened  gravely. 

"  And,"  she  concluded,  "  they  wouldn't  listen  to  me, 


326          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Lieutenant.  Can't  you  follow  them  and  keep  them  out 
of  trouble?" 

Woodward  who  had  been  listening  to  her  attentively 
jumped  up  as  she  concluded.  "  Yes,"  he  cried  sympa 
thetically,  "  I  can.  I'll  go  myself  with  some  of  the  men 
from  the  post.  If  they  get  into  any  scrape,  I'll  rescue 
them." 

Almost  before  she  could  thank  him,  Woodward  had 
hurried  from  his  office,  followed  by  her.  On  the  pa 
rade  grounds  were  some  men.  Quickly  he  issued  his 
orders  and  a  number  of  them  sprang  up  as  he  detailed 
them  off  for  the  duty.  It  was  only  a  moment  before 
they  returned,  armed.  An  instant  later  three  large 
touring  cars  from  the  Fort  swept  up  before  the  office  of 
Woodward.  Into  them  the  armed  men  piled. 

"  Hurry — to  the  Del  Mar  bungalow,"  ordered  the 
Lieutenant,  jumping  up  with  the  driver  of  the  first 
car.  "  We  must  see  that  nothing  happens  to  Miss 
Dodge  and  Mr.  Jameson." 

They  shot  away  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  followed  hard 
by  the  other  two  cars,  dashing  at  a  breakneck  speed 
over  the  good  roads. 

In  the  narrow,  wooded  roadway  near  Del  Mar's, 
Woodward  halted  his  car  and  the  soldiers  all  jumped 
out  and  gathered  about  him  as  hastily  he  issued  his 
directions. 

"  Surround  the  house,  first,"  he  ordered.  "  Then  ar 
rest  any  one  who  goes  in  or  out." 

They  scattered,  forming  a  wide  circle.  As  soon  as 
word  was  passed  that  the  circle  was  completed,  they 
advanced  cautiously  at  a  signal  from  Woodward,  tak 
ing  advantage  of  every  concealment. 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        337 


Around  in  the  kitchen  back  of  Del  Mar's,  Henry,  the 
valet,  had  retired  to  visit  one  of  the  maids.  He  was 
about  to  leave  when  he  happened  to  look  out  of  the 
window. 

"  What's  that?  "  he  muttered  to  himself. 

He  stepped  back  and  peered  cautiously  through  the 
window  again.  There  he  could  see  a  soldier,  moving 
stealthily  behind  a  bush. 

He  drew  back  further  and  thought  a  minute.  He 
must  not  alarm  us. 

Then  he  wrote  a  few  words  on  a  piece  of  paper  and 
tore  it  so  that  he  could  hold  it  in  his  palm.  Next  he 
hurried  from  the  kitchen  and  entered  the  study. 

Del  Mar  had  scarcely  begun  to  outline  to  us  a  long 
and  circumstantial  pseudo — investigation  into  what  he 
was  pleased  to  hint  had  been  the  death  of  Kennedy, 
when  we  were  interrupted  again  by  the  entrance  of 
his  valet. 

"  Excuse  me,  sir,"  apologized  Henry,  as  Del  Mar 
frowned,  then  noted  that  something  was  wrong. 

As  the  valet  said  the  words,  he  managed  surrepti 
tiously  to  hand  to  Del  Mar  the  paper  which  he  had 
written,  now  folded  up  into  a  very  small  space. 

I  had  turned  from  Del  Mar  when  the  valet  entered, 
apparently  to  speak  to  Elaine,  but  in  reality  to  throw 
them  off  their  guard. 

Under  that  cover  I  was  able  to  watch  the  precious 
pair  from  the  tail  of  my  eye.  I  saw  Del  Mar  nod  to 
the  valet  as  though  he  understood  that  some  warning 
was  about  to  be  conveyed.  Although  nothing  was 
said,  Del  Mar  was  indicating  by  dumb  show  orders  of 


328  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

some  kind.  I  had  no  idea  what  it  was  all  about  but  I 
stood  ready  to  whip  out  my  gun  on  the  slightest  sus 
picious  move  from  either. 

•"J  hope  you'll  pardon  me,  Miss  Dodge,"  Del  Mar 
deprecated,  as  the  valet  retreated  toward  the  door  to 
the  kitchen  and  pantry.  "  But,  you  see,  I  have  to  be 
housekeeper  here,  too,  it  seems." 

Actually,  though  he  was  talking  to  us,  it  was  in  a 
way  that  enabled  him  by  palming  something  in  his 
hand,  I  fancied,  to  look  at  it.  It  was,  though  I  did  not 
know  it,  the  hastily  scrawled  warning  of  the  valet. 

It  must  have  been  hard  to  read,  for  I  managed  by  a 
quick  shift  at  last  to  catch  just  a  fleeting  glimpse  that  it 
was  a  piece  of  paper  he  held  in  his  hand. 

What  was  it,  I  asked  myself,  that  he  should  be  so 
secret  about  it  ?  Clearly,  I  reasoned,  it  must  be  some 
thing  that  was  of  interest  to  Elaine  and  myself.  If 
I  must  act  ever,  I  concluded,  now  was  the  time  to  do 
so. 

Suddenly  I  reached  out  and  snatched  the  note  from 
his  hand.  But  before  I  could  read  it  Del  Mar  had 
sprung  to  his  feet. 

At  the  same  instant  a  man  leaped  out  from  behind 
the  curtains. 

But  I  was  on  my  guard.  Already  I  had  drawn  my 
revolver  and  had  them  all  covered  before  they  could 
make  another  move. 

"  Back  into  that  corner — by  the  window — all  of 
you,"  I  ordered,  thinking  thus  to  get  them  together, 
more  easily  covered.  Then,  handing  the  note,  with 
my  other  hand,  to  Elaine,  I  said  to  her,  "  See  wharf:  it 
says — quick." 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        329 

Eagerly  she  took  it  and  read  aloud,  "  House  sur 
rounded  by  soldiers." 

"  Woodward,"  I  cried. 

Still  keeping  them  covered,  I  smiled  quietly  to  my 
self  and  took  one  step  after  another  slowly  to  the  door. 
Elaine  followed. 

I  reached  the  door  and  I  remember  that  I  had  to  step 
on  a  metal  mat  to  do  so.  I  put  my  hand  behind  me  and 
grasped  the  knob  about  to  open  the  door. 

As  I  did  so,  the  man  who  had  jumped  from  behind 
the  curtain  suddenly  threw  down  his  upraised  hands. 
Before  I  could  fire,  instantaneously  in  fact,  I  felt  a 
thrill  as  though  a  million  needles  had  been  thrust  into 
all  parts  of  my  body  at  once  paralyzing  every  muscle 
and  nerve.  The  gun  fell  from  my  nerveless  hand,  clat 
tering  to  the  floor. 

The  man  had  thrown  an  electric  switch  which  had 
completed  a  circuit  from  the  metal  mat  to  the  door 
knob  through  my  body  and  then  to  the  light  and  power 
current  of  high  power.  There  I  was,  held  a  prisoner, 
by  the  electric  current ! 

At  the  same  instant,  also,  Del  Mar  with  an  oath 
leaped  forward  and  seized  Elaine  by  the  arms.  I  strug 
gled  with  the  door-knob  but  I  could  no  more  let  go 
than  I  could  move  my  feet  off  that  mat.  It  was  tor 
ture. 

"  Henry !  "  called  Del  Mar  to  the  valet. 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Open  the  cabinet.  Give  me  the  helmets  and  the 
suits." 

The  valet  did  so,  bringing  out  a  number  of  queer 
looking  head-pieces  with  a  single  weird  eye  of  glass  in 


330          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

the  front,  as  well  as  rubber  suits  of  an  outlandish  de 
sign.  While  he  was  doing  so,  Del  Mar  stuffed  a  hand 
kerchief  into  Elaine's  mouth  to  keep  her  quiet. 

By  this  time,  Del  Mar,  as  well  as  the  man  from  be 
hind  the  curtains  and  the  valet  were  provided  with 
suits,  and  one  at  a  time  holding  Elaine,  the  others  put 
them  on. 

Del  Mar  moved  toward  Elaine,  holding  an  extra  hel 
met.  He  strapped  it  on  her,  then  started  to  force  her 
into  a  suit. 

I  struggled  still,  but  in  vain,  to  free  myself  from  the 
door-knob  and  mat.  It  was  more  than  I  could  stand, 
and  I  sank  down,  half  conscious. 

I  revived  only  long  enough  to  see  that  Del  Mar  had 
forced  one  of  the  suits  on  Elaine  finally.  Then  he 
pressed  a  button  hidden  on  the  side  of  his  desk  and  a 
secret  panel  in  the  wall  opened.  Picking  up  Elaine  he 
and  the  others  hurried  through  into  what  looked  like  a 
dark  passage  and  the  panel  closed. 

They  were  gone.  I  put  forth  all  my  remaining 
strength  in  one  last  desperate  struggle.  Somehow,  I 
managed  to  kick  the  wire  mat  from  under  my  feet, 
breaking  the  contact. 

I  staggered  toward  the  panel,  but  fell  to  the  floor, 
unconscious. 

Outside,  the  iron  ring,  as  Woodward  had  planned  it, 
of  soldiers  were  looking  about,  alert  for  any  noise  or 
movement.  Suddenly,  two  of  them  who  had  been 
watching  the  grounds  attentively  signalled  to  each  other 
that  they  saw  something. 

From  the  shrubbery  emerged  a  most  curious  and  un- 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        331 

couth  figure,  all  in  rags,  with  long,  unkempt  hair  and 
beard,  sallow  complexion,  and  carrying  a  long  staff. 
It  might  have  been  a  tramp  or  a  hermit,  perhaps,  who 
was  making  his  way  toward  the  house. 

The  two  soldiers  stole  up  noiselessly,  close  to  him. 
Almost  before  he  knew  it,  the  hermit  felt  himself  seized 
from  behind  by  four  powerful  arms.  Escape  was  im 
possible. 

"  Let  me  go,"  he  pleaded.  "  Can't  you  see  I'm  harm 
ing  no  one  ?  " 

But  the  captors  were  obdurate.  "  Tell  it  to  the  Lieu 
tenant,"  they  rejoined  grimly  forcing  him  to  go  before 
them  by  twisting  his  arms,  "  Our  orders  were  to  seize 
any  one  entering  or  leaving." 

Protests  were  in  vain.  The  hermit  was  forced  to 
go  before  Lieutenant  Woodward  who  was  just  in  the 
rear  directing  the  advance. 

"  Well,"  demanded  Woodward,  "  what's  your  busi 
ness?" 

For  an  instant  the  hermit  stood  mute.  What  should 
he  do  ?  He  has  reason  to  know  that  the  situation  must 
be  urgent. 

Slowly  he  raised  his  beard  so  that  Woodward  could 
see  not  only  that  it  was  false  but  what  his  features 
looked  like. 

"Arnold!"  gasped  Woodward,  startled.  "What 
brings  you  here  ?  Elaine  and  Jameson  are  in  the  house. 
We  have  it  surrounded." 

Half  an  hour  before,  in  the  St.  Germain,  Arnold 
had  no  sooner  received  the  telaphotograph  than  he 
hurried  up  to  his  room.  From  a  closet  he  had  pro 
duced  another  of  his  numerous  disguises  and  quickly 


332  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

put  it  on.  With  scant  white  locks  falling  over  his 
shoulders  and  long  scraggly  beard,  he  had  made  him 
self  into  a  veritable  wild  man.  Then  he  had  put  on 
the  finishing  touches  and  had  made  his  way  toward 
Del  Mar's. 

A  look  of  intense  anxiety  now  flashed  over  Arnold's 
face  as  he  heard  Woodward's  words. 

"  But,"  he  cried,  "  there  is  an  underground  passage 
from  the  house  to  the  shore." 

"  The  deuce !  "  muttered  Woodward,  more  alarmed 
now  than  ever.  "  Come,  men, — to  the  house,"  he 
shouted  out  his  orders  as  they  passed  them  around 
the  line.  "  Arnold,  lead  the  way !  " 

Together  the  soldier  and  the  strange  figure  rushed 
to  the  front  door  of  the  bungalow.  All  was  still  in 
side.  Heavy  as  it  was,  they  broke  it  down  and  burst  in. 

"  Walter,  there's  Walter !  "  cried  Woodward  as  he 
saw  me  lying  on  the  floor  of  the  study  when  they  ran 
in. 

They  hurried  to  me  and  as  quickly  as  they  could 
started  to  bring  me  around. 

"  Where's  Elaine?  "  asked  the  strange  figure  of  the 
hermit. 

Weakly,  I  was  able  only  to  point  to  the  panel.  But 
it  was  enough.  The  soldiers  understood.  They 
dashed  for  it,  looking  for  a  button  or  an  opening. 
Finding  neither,  they  started  to  bang  on  it  and  batter 
it  in  with  the  butts  of  their  guns. 

It  was  only  seconds  before  it  was  splintered  to  kind 
ling.  There  was  the  passage.  Instantly,  Woodward, 
the  hermit,  and  the  rest  plunged  into  it  utterly  regard* 
less  of  danger.  On  through  the  tunnel  they  went  until 


THE  DISAPPEARING  HELMETS        333 

at  last  they  came,  unmolested,  to  the  end.  There  they 
paused  to  look  about. 

The  hermit  pointed  to  the  ground.  Clearly  there 
were  footprints,  leading  to  the  shore.  They  followed 
them  on  down  to  the  beach. 

"  Look !  "  pointed  the  hermit. 

Off  in  the  water  they  could  now  see  the  most  curious 
sights.  Four  strangely  helmeted  creatures  were  wad 
ing  out,  each  like  a  huge  octopus-head,  without  ten- 
acles. 

Only  a  few  seconds  before,  Del  Mar  and  his  com 
panions,  carrying  Elaine  had  emerged  from  the  secret 
entrance  of  the  tunnel  and  had  dashed  for  the  shore 
of  the  promontory. 

Stopping  only  an  instant  to  consider  what  was  to  be 
done,  Del  Mar  had  seen  some  one  else  emerge  from  the 
tunnel. 

"  Come — we  must  get  down  there  quickly,"  he 
shouted,  hurriedly  issuing  orders,  as  all  three,  carrying 
Elaine,  waded  out  into  the  water. 

At  sight  of  the  strange  figures  the  soldiers  raised 
their  guns  and  a  volley  of  shot  rang  out. 

"Stop!"  shouted  the  hermit,  his  hair  streaming 
wildly  as  he  ran  before  the  guns  and  threw  up  as 
many  as  he  could  grasp  with  his  outstretched  arms. 
"  Do  you  want  to  kill  her?  " 

"Her?"  repeated  Woodward. 

All  stood  there,  wonderingly,  gazing  at  the  queer 
treatures. 

What  did  it  mean  ? 

Slowly,  they  disappeared — literally  under  the  water. 

They  were  gone — with  Elaine! 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE 

HALF  carrying,  half  forcing  Elaine  down  into  the 
water,  Del  Mar  and  his  two  men,  all  four  of  the  party 
clad  in  the  outlandish  submarine  suits,  bore  the  poor 
girl  literally  along  the  bottom  of  the  bay  until  they 
reached  a  point  which  they  knew  to  be  directly  under 
the  entrance  to  the  secret  submarine  harbor. 

Del  Mar's  mind  was  working  feverishly.  Though! 
he  now  had  in  his  power  the  girl  he  both  loved  and  also 
feared  as  the  stumbling-block  in  the  execution  of  his 
nefarious  plans  against  America,  he  realized  that  in 
getting  her  he  had  been  forced  to  betray  the  precious 
secret  of  the  harbor  itself. 

At  the  point  where  he  knew  that  the  harbor  was 
above  him,  hidden  safely  beneath  the  promontory,  hf 
took  from  under  his  arm  a  float  which  he  released. 
Upward  it  shot  through  the  water. 

Above,  in  the  harbor,  a  number  of  his  men  were 
either  on  guard  or  lounging  about. 

"  A  signal  from  the  chief,"  cried  a  sentry,  pointing 
to  the  float  as  it  bobbed  up. 

"  Kick  off  the  lead  shoes,"  signalled  Del  Mar  to  the 
others,  under  the  water. 

334 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  335 

They  did  so  and  rose  slowly  to  the  surface,  carrying 
Elaine  up  with  them.  The  men  at  the  surface  were 
waiting  for  them  and  helped  to  pull  Del  Mar  and  his 
companions  out  of  the  water. 

"  Corne  into  the  office,  right  away,"  beckoned  Del 
Mar  anxiously,  removing  his  helmet  and  leading  the 
way. 

In  the  office,  the  others  removed  their  helmets,  while 
Del  Mar  took  the  head-gear  off  Elaine.  She  stared 
about  her  bewildered. 

"  Where  am  I  ?  "  she  demanded. 

"  A  woman ! "  exclaimed  the  men  in  the  harbor  in 
surprise. 

"  Never  mind  where  you  are,"  growled  Del  Mar, 
plainly  worried.  Then  to  the  men,  he  added,  "  We 
can't  stay  any  longer.  The  harbor  is  discovered.  Get 
ready  to  leave  immediately." 

Murmurs  of  anger  and  anxiety  rose  from  the  men 
as  Del  Mar  related  briefly  between  orders  what  had 
just  happened. 

Immediately  there  was  a  general  scramble  to  make 
ready  for  the  escape. 

In  the  corner  of  the  office,  Elaine,  again  in  her  skirt 
and  shirtwaist  which  the  diving-suit  had  protected,  sat 
open-eyed  watching  the  preparations  of  the  men  for 
the  hasty  departure.  Some  had  been  detailed  to  get 
the  rifles  which  they  handed  around  to  those  as  yet  un 
armed.  Del  Mar  took  one  as  well  as  a  cartridge  belt. 

"  Guard  her,"  he  shouted  to  one  man  indicating 
Elaine,  "and  if  she  gets  away  this  time,  I'll  shoot 
you." 

Then  he  led  the  others  down  the  ledge  until  he  came 


336  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

to  a  submarine  boat.     The  rest  followed,  still  making 
preparations  for  a  hasty  flight. 

Woodward  along  with  Professor  Arnold,  in  his  dis 
guise  as  a  hermit,  stood  for  a  moment  surrounded  by 
the  soldiers,  after  the  disappearance  of  Elaine  and  Del 
Mar  in  the  water. 

"  I  see  it  all,  now,"  cried  the  hermit,  "  the  subma 
rine,  the  strange  disappearances,  the  messages  in  the 
water.  They  have  a  secret  harbor  under  those  cliffs, 
with  an  entrance  beneath  the  water  line." 

Hastily  he  wrote  a  note  on  a  piece  of  paper. 

"  Send  one  of  your  men  to  my  headquarters  with 
that,"  he  said,  handing  it  to  Woodward  to  read : 

RODGERS, — 

Send  new  submarine  telescope  by  bearer.  You  will 
find  it  in  case  No.  17,  closet  No.  3. — ARNOLD. 

"  Right  away,"  nodded  Woodward,  comprehending 
and  calling  a  soldier  whom  he  dispatched  immediately 
with  hurried  instructions.  The  soldier  saluted  and  left 
almost  on  a  run. 

Then  Woodward  turned  and  with  Arnold  lead  the 
men  up  the  shore,  still  conferring  on  the  best  means 
of  attacking  the  harbor. 

On  a  wharf  along  the  shore  Woodward,  Arnold  and 
the  soldiers  gathered,  waiting  for  the  telescope.  Al 
ready  Woodward  had  had  a  fast  launch  brought  up, 
ready  for  use. 

When  Woodward,  Arnold  and  the  attacking  party 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  337 

had  discovered  me  unconscious  in  Del  Mar's  study, 
there  had  been  no  time  to  wait  for  me  to  regain  full 
consciousness.  They  had  placed  me  on  a  couch  and 
run  into  the  secret  passageway  after  Elaine. 

Now,  however,  I  slowly  regained  my  senses  and, 
looking  about,  vaguely  began  to  realize  what  had  hap 
pened. 

My  first  impulse  was  to  search  the  study,  looking  in 
all  the  closets  and  table  drawers.  In  a  corner  was  a 
large  chest.  I  opened  it.  Inside  were  several  of  the 
queer  helmets  and  suits  which  I  had  seen  Del  Mar  use 
and  one  of  which  he  had  placed  on  Elaine. 

For  some  moments  I  examined  them  curiously,  won 
dering  what  their  use  could  be.  Somehow  it  seemed  to 
me,  if  Del  Mar  had  used  them  in  the  escape,  we  should 
need  them  in  the  pursuit. 

Then  my  eye  fell  on  the  broken  panel.  I  entered  it 
and  groped  cautiously  down  the  passageway.  At  the 
end  I  gazed  about,  trying  to  discover  which  way  they 
had  all  gone. 

At  last,  down  on  the  shore,  before  a  wharf  I  could 
see  Woodward,  the  strange  old  hermit  and  the  rest. 

I  ran  toward  them,  calling. 

By  this  time  the  soldier  who  had  been  sent  for  the 
submarine  telescope  arrived  at  last,  with  the  telescope 
in  sections  in  several  long  cases. 

"Good!"  exclaimed  the  old  hermit,  almost  seizing 
the  package  which  the  soldier  handed  him. 

He  unwrapped  it  and  joined  the  various  sections  to 
gether.  It  was,  as  I  have  said,  a  submarine  telescope, 
but  after  a  design  entirely  new,  differing  from  the 

22 


338  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

ordinary  submarine  telescope.  It  had  an  arm  bent  at 
right  angles,  with  prismatic  mirrors  so  that  it  was  not 
only  possible  to  see  the  bottom  of  the  sea  but  by  an 
adjustment  also  to  see  at  right  angles,  or,  as  it  were, 
around  a  corner. 

It  was  while  he  was  joining  this  contrivance  together 
that  I  came  up  from  the  end  of  the  secret  passage  do  wo 
to  the  wharf. 

"  Why,  here's  Jameson,"  greeted  Woodward.  "  I'm 
glad  you're  so  much  better." 

"  Where's  Elaine?  "  I  interrupted  breathlessly. 

They  began  to  tell  me. 

"Aren't  you  going  to  follow?"  I  cried. 

"  Follow  ?    How  can  we  follow  ?  " 

Excitedly  I  told  of  my  discovery  of  the  helmets. 

"  Just  the  thing !  "  exclaimed  the  hermit.  "  Send 
some  one  back  to  get  them." 

Woodward  quickly  detached  several  soldiers  to  go 
with  me  and  I  hurried  back  to  the  bungalow,  while 
others  carried  the  submarine  telescope  to  the  boat. 

It  was  only  a  few  minutes  later  that  in  Del  Mar's 
own  car,  I  drove  up  to  the  wharf  again  and  we  un 
loaded  the  curious  submarine  helmets  and  suits. 

Quickly  Woodward  posted  several  of  his  men  to 
act  as  sentries  on  the  beach,  then  with  the  rest  we 
climbed  into  the  launch  and  slipped  off  down  the  shore. 

The  launch  which  Woodward  had  commandeered 
moved  along  in  the  general  direction  which  they  had 
seen  Del  Mar  and  his  men  take  with  Elaine.  With  the 
telescope  over  the  side,  we  cruised  about  slowly  in  a  cir 
cle,  Arnold  gazing  through  the  eyepiece.  All  of  us 
were  by  this  time  in  the  diving-suits  which  I  had 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  339 

brought  from  Del  Mar's,  except  that  we  had  »ot  yet 
strapped  on  the  helmets. 

Suddenly  Arnold  raised  his  hand  and  signalled  to 
stop  the  launch. 

"  Look !  "  he  cried,  indicating  the  eyepiece  of  the 
submarine  telescope  which  he  had  let  down  over  the 
side. 

Woodward  gazed  into  the  eyepiece  and  then  I  did, 
also.  There  we  could  see  the  side  of  a  submerged  sub 
marine  a  short  distance  away,  through  the  cave-like  en 
trance  of  what  appeared  to  be  a  great  under-water 
harbor. 

"  What  shall  we  do?  "  queried  Woodward. 

"  Attack  it  now  before  they  are  prepared,"  replied 
the  hermit  decisively.  "  Put  on  the  helmets." 

All  of  us  except  those  who  were  running  the  launch 
buckled  on  the  head-pieces,  wrapping  our  guns  in 
waterproof  covers  which  we  had  found  with  the  suits. 

As  soon  as  we  had  finished,  one  after  another,  we  let 
ourselves  over  the  side  of  the  boat  and  sank  to  the  bot 
tom. 

On  the  bottom  we  gathered  and  slowly,  in  the  heavy 
unaccustomed  helmets  and  cumbersome  suits,  we  made 
our  way  in  a  body  through  the  entrance  of  the  harbor. 

Upward  through  the  archway  we  went,  clinging  to 
rocks,  anything,  but  always  upward. 

As  we  emerged  a  shot  rang  out.  One  of  our  men 
threw  up  his  arms  and  fell  back  into  the  water. 

On  we  pressed. 


Elaine  sat  in  a  corner  of  the  office,  mute,  while  the 


340          THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

man  who  was  guarding  her,  heavily  armed,  paced  up 
and  down. 

Suddenly  an  overwhelming  desire  came  over  her  to 
attempt  an  escape.  But  no  sooner  had  she  made  a  mo 
tion  as  though  to  run  through  the  doer  than  the  man 
seized  her  and  drove  her  back  to  her  corner. 

"  Take  your  positions  here,"  ordered  Del  Mar  to 
several  of  the  men.  "If  you  see  anybody  come  up 
through  the  water,  these  hand  grenades  ought  to  set 
tle  them." 

Along  the  ledge  the  men  were  stationed  each  with  a 
pile  of  the  grenades  before  him. 

"  See !  "  cried  one  of  them  from  the  ledge  as  he 
caught  sight  of  one  of  our  helmets  appearing. 

The  others  crouched  and  stared.  Del  Mar  himself 
hurried  forward  and  gazed  in  the  direction  the  man  in 
dicated.  There  they  could  see  Woodward,  Arnold  and 
the  rest  of  us  just  beginning  to  climb  up  out  of  the 
water. 

Del  Mar  aimed  and  fired.  One  of  the  men  had 
thrown  up  his  arms  with  a  cry  and  fallen  back  into  the 
water. 

Invaders  seemed  to  swarm  up  now  in  every  direction 
from  the  water. 

On  the  semi-circular  ledge  about  one  side  of  the 
harbor,  Del  Mar's  men  were  now  ranged  in  close  order 
near  a  submarine,  whose  hatch  was  open  to  receive 
them,  ready  to  repel  the  attack  and  if  necessary  re 
treat  into  the  under-sea  boat. 

They  fired  sharply  at  the  figures  that  rose  from  the 
water.  Many  of  the  men  fell  back,  hit,  but,  in  turn,  a 
large  number  managed  to  gain  a  foothold  on  the  ledge. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  341 

Led  by  Woodward  and  Arnold,  they  formed  quickly 
and  stripped  off  the  waterproof  coverings  of  their 
weapons,  returning  the  fire  sharply.  Things  were 
more  equal  now.  Several  of  Dd  Mar's  men  had  fallen. 
The  smoke  of  battle  filled  the  narrov/  harbor. 

In  the  '-ffice  Elaine  listened  keenly  to  the  shots. 
What  did  it  all  mean  ?  Clearly  it  could  be  nothing  less 
than  assistance  coming. 

The  man  on  guard  heard  also  and  his  uncontrollable 
curiosity  took  him  to  the  door.  As  he  gazed  out 
Elaine  saw  her  chance.  She  made  a  rush  at  him  and 
seized  him,  wresting  the  rifle  from  his  hands  before 
he  knew  it.  She  sprang  back  just  as  he  drew  his  re 
volver  and  fired  at  her.  The  shot  just  narrowly  missed 
her,  but  she  did  not  lose  her  presence  of  mind.  She 
fired  the  rifle  in  turn  and  the  man  fell. 

A  little  shudder  ran  over  her.  She  had  killed  a  man! 
But  the  firing  outside  grew  fiercier.  She  had  no  time 
to  think.  She  stepped  over  the  body,  her  face  averted, 
and  ran  out.  There  she  could  see  Del  Mar  and  his 
men.  Many  of  them  by  this  time  had  been  killed  or 
wounded. 

"  We  can't  beat  them ;  they  are  too  many  for  us," 
muttered  Del  Mar.  "  We'll  have  to  get  away  if  we 
can.  Into  the  submarine !  "  he  ordered. 

Hastily  they  began  to  pile  into  the  open  hatch. 

Just  as  Del  Mar  started  to  follow  them,  he  caught 
sight  of  Elaine  running  out  of  the  office.  Almost  in 
one  leap  he  was  at  her  side.  Before  she  could  raise 
her  rifle  and  fire  he  had  seized  it.  She  managed,  how 
ever,  to  push  him  off  and  get  away  from  him. 

She  looked  about  for  some  weapon.     There  on  the 


342  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

ledge  lay  one  of  the  hand  grenades.  She  picked  it  up 
and  hurled  it  at  him,  but  he  dorl^ed  and  it  missed  him. 
On  it  flew  landing  close  to  the  submarine.  As  it  ex 
ploded,  another  of  Del  Mar's  men  toppled  over  into 
the  water. 

Between  volleys,  Woodward,  Arnold  and  the  rest 
pulled  off  their  helmets. 

"  Elaine !  "  cried  Arnold,  catching  sight  of  her  in 
the  hands  of  Del  Mar. 

Quickly,  at  the  head  of  such  men  as  he  could  mus 
ter,  the  hermit  led  a  charge. 

In  the  submarine  the  last  man  was  waiting  for  Del 
Mar.  As  the  hermit  ran  forward  with  several  soldiers 
between  Del  Mar  and  the  submarine,  it  was  evident 
that  Del  Mar  would  be  cut  off. 

The  man  at  the  hatch  climbed  down  into  the  boat. 
It  was  useless  to  wait.  He  banged  shut  and  clamped 
the  hatch.  Slowly  the  submarine  began  to  sink. 

Del  Mar  by  this  time  had  overcome  Elaine  and 
started  to  run  toward  the  submarine  with  her.  But 
then  he  stopped  short. 

There  was  a  queer  figure  of  a  hermit  leading  some 
soldiers.  He  was  cut  off. 

"  Back  into  the  office !  "  he  growled,  dragging  Elaine. 

He  banged  shut  the  door  just  as  the  hermit  and  the 
soldiers  made  a  rush  at  him.  On  the  door  they 
battered.  But  it  was  in  vain.  The  door  WAS 
locked. 

In  the  office  Del  Mar  hastily  went  to  a  corner,  after 
barring  the  door,  and  lifted  a  trap-door  in  the  floor, 
known  only  to  himself. 

Elaine  did  not  move  or  make  any  attempt  to  escape, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  343 

for  Del  Mar  in  addition  to  having  a  vicious  looking 
automatic  in  his  hand  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  her. 

Outside  the  office,  the  soldiers,  led  by  the  hermit  and 
Woodward  continued  to  batter  at  the  door. 

"  Now — go  down  that  stairway — ahead  of  me,"  or 
dered  Del  Mar. 

Elaine  obeyed  tensely,  and  he  followed  into  his 
emergency  exit,  closing  the  trap. 

"  Beat  harder,  men,"  urged  the  hermit,  as  the  sol 
diers  battered  at  the  door. 

They  redoubled  their  efforts  and  the  door  bent  and 
swayed. 

At  last  it  fell  in  under  the  sheer  weight  of  the  blows. 

"  By  George — he's  gone — with  Elaine/'  cried  the 
hermit,  looking  at  the  empty  office. 

Feverishly  they  hunted  about  for  a  means  of  es 
cape  but  could  find  none. 

"  Pound  the  floor  and  walls  with  the  butts  of  your 
guns,"  ordered  Arnold.  "  There  must  be  some  place 
that  is  hollow." 

They  did  so,  going  over  all  inch  by  inch. 

Meanwhile ,  through  the  passage,  along  a  rocky 
stairway,  Del  Mar  continued  to  drive  Elaine  before 
him,  up  and  ever  up  to  the  level  of  the  land. 

At  last  Elaine,  followed  by  Del  Mar,  emerged  from 
the  rocky  passage  in  a  cleft  in  the  cliffs,  far  above  the 
promontory. 

"Go  on !  "  he  ordered,  forcing  her  to  go  ahead  of 
him. 

They  came  finally  to  a  small  hut  on  a  cliff  overlook 
ing  the  real  harbor. 

"  Enter !  "  demanded  Del  Mar. 


344  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Still  meekly,  she  obeyed. 

Del  Mar  seized  her  and  before  she  knew  it  had  her 
bound  and  gagged. 

Down  in  the  little  office  our  men  continued  to  search 
for  the  secret  exit. 

"  Here's  a  place  that  gives  an  echo,"  shouted  one  of 
them. 

As  he  found  the  secret  trap  and  threw  it  open,  the 
hermit  stripped  off  the  cumbersome  diving-suit  and 
jumped  in,  followed  by  Woodward,  myself  and  the 
soldiers. 

Upward  we  climbed  until  at  last  we  came  to  the 
opening.  There  we  paused  and  looked  about.  Where 
was  Del  Mar?  Where  was  Elaine?  We  could  see  no 
trace  of  them. 

Finally,  however,  Arnold  discovered  the  trail  in 
the  grass  and  we  followed  him,  slowly  picking  up  the 
tracks. 


Knowing  that  the  submarine  would  cruise  about  and 
wait  for  him,  Del  Mar  decided  to  leave  Elaine  in  the 
hut  while  he  went  out  and  searched  for  a  boat  in  which 
to  look  for  the  submarine. 

Coming  out  of  the  hut,  he  gazed  about  and  moved 
off  cautiously.  Stealthily  he  went  down  to  the  shore 
and  there  looked  up  and  down  intently. 

A  short  distance  away  from  him  was  a  pier  in  the 
process  of  construction.  Men  were  unloading  spiles 
from  a  cable  car  that  ran  out  on  the  pier  on  a  little 
construction  railway,  as  well  as  other  material  with 
which  to  fill  in  the  pier.  At  the  end  of  the  dock  lay  a 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  345 

power-boat,  moored,  evidently  belonging  to  some  one 
interested  in  the  work  on  the  pier. 

The  workmen  had  just  finished  unloading  a  car  full 
and  were  climbing  back  on  the  empty  car,  which  looked 
as  if  it  had  once  been  a  trolley.  As  Del  Mar  looked 
over  the  scene  of  activity,  he  caught  sight  of  the  power 
boat. 

"Just  what  I  want,"  he  muttered  to  himself.  "I 
must  get  Elaine.  I  can  get  away  in  that." 

The  workmen  signalled  to  the  engineer  above  and 
the  car  ran  up  the  wharf  and  up  an  incline  at  the  shore- 
end. 

The  moment  the  car  disappeared,  Del  Mar  hurried 
away  in  the  direction  he  had  come. 

At  the  top  of  the  grade,  he  noticed,  was  a  donkey 
engine  which  operated  the  cable  that  drew  the  car  up 
from  the  dock,  and  at  the  top  of  the  incline  was  a  huge 
pile  of  material. 

The  car  had  been  drawn  up  to  the  top  of  the  grade 
by  this  time.  There  the  engineer  who  operated  the 
engine  stopped  it. 

Just  then  the  whistle  blew  for  the  noon  hour.  The 
men  quit  work  and  went  to  get  their  dinner  pails, 
while  the  engineer  started  to  draw  the  fire.  Beside  the 
engine,  he  began  to  chop  some  wood,  while  the  car  was 
held  at  the  top  of  the  grade  by  the  cable. 

In  our  pursuit  we  came  at  last  in  sight  of  a  lonely 
hut.  Evidently  that  must  be  a  rendezvous  of  Del  Mar. 
But  was  he  there?  Was  Elaine  there?  We  must  see 
first. 

While  we  were  looking  about  and  debating  what 


346  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

was  the  best  thing  to  do,  who  should  appear  hurrying 
up  the  hill  but  Del  Mar  himself,  going  toward  the 
hut. 

As  we  caught  sight  of  him,  Arnold  sprang  forward. 
Woodward  and  I,  followed  by  the  soldiers  also  jumped 
out. 

Del  Mar  turned  and  ran  down  the  hill  again  with  us 
after  him,  in  full  cry. 

While  we  had  been  waiting,  some  of  the  soldiers  had 
deployed  down  the. hill  and  now,  hearing  our  shouts, 
turned,  and  came  up  again. 

Beside  his  engine,  we  could  see  an  engineer  chop 
ping  wood.  He  paused  now  in  his  chopping  and  was 
gazing  out  over  the  bay.  Suddenly  he  had  seen  some 
thing  out  in  the  water  that  had  attracted  his  attention 
and  was  staring  at  it.  There  it  moved,  nothing  less 
than  a  half-submerged  submarine. 

As  the  engineer  gazed  off  at  it,  Del  Mar  came  up, 
unseen,  behind  him  and  stood  there,  also  watching  the 
submarine,  fascinated. 

Just  then  behind  him  Del  Mar  heard  us  pursuing. 
He  looked  about  as  we  ran  toward  him  and  saw  that 
we  had  formed  a  wide  circle,  with  the  men  down  the 
hill,  that  almost  completely  surrounded  him.  There 
was  no  chance  for  escape.  It  was  hopeless. 

But  it  was  not  Del  Mar's  nature  to  give  up.  He 
gave  one  last  glance  about.  There  was  the  trolley  car 
that  had  been  converted  into  a  cable  way.  It  offered 
just  one  chance  in  a  thousand.  Suddenly  his  face  as 
sumed  an  air  of  desperate  determination. 

He  sprang  toward  the  engineer  and  grappled  with 
him,  seeking  to  wrest  the  axe  from  his  hand.  Every 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  347 

second  counted.  Our  circle  was  now  narrowing  down 
and  closing  in  on  him. 

Del  Mar  managed  to  knock  out  the  engineer,  taken 
by  surprise,  just  as  our  men  fired  a  volley.  In  the 
struggle,  Del  Mar  was  unharmed.  Instead  he  just 
managed  to  get  the  axe. 

An  instant  later  a  leap  landed  him  on  the  cable  car. 
With  a  blow  of  the  axe  he  cut  the  cable.  The  car  be 
gan  to  move  slowly  down  the  hill  on  the  grade. 

Some  of  the  men  were  down  below  in  its  path.  But 
the  onrushing  cable  car  was  too  much  for  them.  They 
could  only  leap  aside  to  save  themselves. 

On  down  the  incline,  gathering  momentum  every 
second,  the  car  dashed,  Del  Mar  swaying  crazily  but 
keeping  his  footing.  We  followed  as  fast  as  we  could, 
but  it  was  useless. 

Out  on  the  wharf  it  sped  at  a  terrific  pace.  At  the 
end  it  literally  catapulted  itself  into  the  water,  crash 
ing  from  the  end  of  the  pier.  As  it  did  so,  Del  Mar 
gave  a  flying  leap  out  into  the  harbor,  struck  the  water 
with  a  clean  dive  and  disappeared. 

On  down  the  hill  we  hurried.  There  in  the  water 
was  Del  Mar  swimming  rapidly.  Almost  before  we 
knew  it,  we  saw  him  raise  his  hand  and  signal,  shout 
ing. 

There  only  a  few  yards  away  was  the  periscope  of  a 
submarine.  As  we  watched,  we  could  see  that  it  had 
seen  him,  had  turned  in  his  direction.  Would  they 
get  him? 

We  watched,  fascinated.  Some  of  our  men  fired,  as 
accurately  as  they  could  at  a  figure  bobbing  so  uncer 
tainly  on  the  water. 


348  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Meanwhile  the  submarine  approached  closer  and  rose 
a  bit  so  that  the  hatchway  cleared  the  waves.  It 
opened.  One  of  the  foreign  agents  assisted  Del  Mar  in. 

He  had  escaped  at  last ! 


It  was  most  heart-breaking  to  have  had  Del  Mar  so 
nearly  in  our  grasp  and  then  to  have  lost  him.  We 
looked  from  one  to  another,  in  despair, 

Only  Arnold,  in  his  disguise  as  a  hermit,  seemed  un- 
discouraged.  Suddenly  he  turned  to  Woodward. 

"  What  time  is  it  ?  "  he  asked  eagerly. 

"  A  little  past  noon." 

"The  Kennedy  wireless  torpedo!"  he  exclaimed. 
"  It  arrived  to-day.  Burnside  is  trying  it  out." 

Suddenly  there  flashed  over  me  the  recollection  of 
the  marvellous  invention  that  Kennedy  had  made  for 
the  Government  just  before  his  disappearance,  as  well 
as  the  memory  of  the  experience  I  had  had  once  with 
the  intrepid  Burnside. 

Woodward's  face  showed  a  ray  of  interest  and  hope 
in  the  overwhelming  gloom  that  had  settled  on  us  all. 

"  You  and  Jameson  go  to  Fort  Dale,  quick,"  directed 
Arnold  eagerly.  "  I'm  not  fit.  Get  Burnside.  Have 
him  bring  the  torpedo  in  the  air-boat." 

We  needed  no  further  urging.  It  was  a  slender 
chance.  But  I  reflected  that  the  submarine  could  not 
run  through  the  bay  totally  submerged.  It  must  have 
Its  periscope  in  view.  We  hurried  away,  leaving 
Arnold,  who  slowly  mounted  the  hill  again. 

How  we  did  it,  I  don't  know,  but  we  managed  to 
get  to  the  Fort  in  record  time.  There  near  the  aero 
plane  hangar,  sure  enough,  was  Burnside  with  some 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  349 

other  men  adjusting  the  first  real  wireless  Kennedy 
torpedo,  the  kst  word  in  scientific  warfare,  making 
an  aerial  torpedo-boat. 

We  ran  up  to  the  hangar  calling  to  Burnside  ex 
citedly.  It  was  only  a  moment  later,  that  he  began  to 
issue  orders  in  his  sharp  staccato.  His  men  swarmed 
forward  and  took  the  torpedo  from  the  spot  where  they 
had  been  examining  it,  adjusting  it  now  beneath  the 
hydroaeroplane. 

"  Jameson,  you  come  with  me,"  he  asked.  "  You 
went  before." 

We  rose  quickly  from  the  surface  and  planed  along 
out  over  the  harbor.  Far  off  we  could  see  the  ripple 
from  the  periscope  of  the  submarine  that  was  bearing 
Del  Mar  away.  Would  Kennedy's  invention  for  which 
Del  Mar  had  dared  so  much  in  the  first  place  prove 
his  final  undoing?  We  sped  ahead. 

Down  below  in  the  submersible  Del  Mar  was  giving 
hasty  orders  to  his  men,  to  dip  down  as  soon  as  all  the 
shipping  and  the  sand  bars  were  cleared. 

I  strained  my  eyes  through  the  glasses  reporting 
feverishly  to  Burnside  what  I  saw  so  that  he  could 
steer  his  course. 

"  There  it  is,"  I  urged.  "  Keep  on — just  to  the 
left." 

"  I  see-  it,"  returned  Burnside  a  moment  later  catch 
ing  with  his  naked  eye  the  thin  line  of  foam  on  the 
water  left  by  the  periscope.  "  Would  you  mind  getting 
that  torpedo  ready?  "  he  continued.  "  I'll  tell  you  just 
what  to  do.  They'll  try  to  duck  as  soon  as  they  see 
us,  but  it  won't  be  any  use.  They  can't  get  totally  sub 
merged  fast  enough." 


350  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Following  Burnside's  directions  I  adjusted  the  firing 
apparatus  of  the  torpedo. 

"  Let  it  go !  "  shouted  Burnside. 

I  did  so,  as  he  volplaned  down  almost  to  the  water. 
The  torpedo  fell,  sank,  bobbed  up,  then  ran  along  just 
under  the  surface.  Already  I  was  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  wireless  device  that  controlled  it,  so  that  while 
Burnside  steadied  the  aircraft  I  could  direct  it,  as  he 
coached  me. 

The  submarine  saw  it  coming  now.  But  it  was  too 
late.  It  could  not  turn ;  it  could  not  submerge  in  time. 

A  terrific  explosion  followed  as  the  torpedo  came  in 
contact  with  the  boat,  throwing  a  column  of  water 
high  in  the  air.  A  yawning  hole  was  blown  in  the 
very  side  of  the  submarine.  One  could  see  the  water 
rush  in. 

Inside,  Del  Mar.  and  his  men  were  now  panic- 
stricken.  Some  of  them  desperately  tried  to  plug  the 
hole.  But  it  was  hopeless.  Others  fell,  fainting,  from 
the  poisonous  gases  that  were  developed. 

Of  them  all,  Del  Mar's  was  the  only  cool  head. 

He  realized  that  all  was  over.  There  was  nothing 
left  to  do  but  what  other  submarine  heroes  had  done 
in  better  causes.  He  seized  a  piece  of  paper  and  hastily 
wrote : 

Tell   my  emperor   I    failed   only   because 
Craig  Kennedy  was  against  me. — DEL  MAR. 

He  had  barely  time  to  place  the  message  in  a  metal 
float  near-by.  Down  the  submarine,  now  full  of  water, 
sank. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  ELAINE  351 

With  his  last  strength  he  flung  the  message  clear  of 
the  wreckage  as  it  settled  on  the  mud  on  the  bottom 
of  the  bay. 

Burnside  and  I  could  but  stare  in  grim  satisfaction 
at  the  end  of  the  enemy  of  ourselves  and  our  country. 


Up  the  hillside  plodded  Professor  Arnold  still  in  his 
wild  disguise  as  the  hermit.  Now  and  then  he  turned 
and  cast  an  anxious  glance  out  over  the  bay  at  the  fast 
disappearing  periscope  of  the  submarine. 

Once  he  paused.  That  was  when  he  saw  the  hydro 
aeroplane  with  Burnside  and  myself  carrying  the  wire 
less  torpedo. 

Again  he  paused  as  he  plodded  up,  this  time  with  a 
gasp  of  extreme  satisfaction.  He  has  seen  the  water 
spout  and  heard  the  explosion  that' marked  the  debacle 
of  Del  Mar. 

The  torpedo  had  worked.  The  most  dangerous  for 
eign  agent  of  the  coalition  of  America's  enemies  was 
dead,  and  his  secrets  had  gone  with  him  to  the  bottom 
of  the  sea.  Perhaps  no  one  would  ever  know  what  the 
nation  had  been  spared. 

He  did  not  pause  long,  now.  More  eagerly  he 
plodded  up  the  hill,  until  he  came  to  the  hut. 

He  pushed  open  the  door.  There  lay  Elaine,  still 
bound.  Quickly  he  cut  the  cords  and  tore  the  gag  from 
her  mouth. 

As  he  did  so,  his  own  beard  fell  off.  He  was  no 
longer  the  hermit.  Nor  was  he  what  I  myself  had 
thought  him,  Arnold. 

"  Craig !  "  cried  Elaine  in  eager  surprise. 


352  THE  ROMANCE  OF  ELAINE 

Kennedy  said  not  a  word  as  he  grasped  her  two 
hands. 

"  And  you  were  always  around  us,  protecting  Walter 
and  me,"  she  half  laughed,  half  cried  hysterically.  "  1 
knew  it — I  knew  it !  " 

Kennedy  said  nothing.    His  heart  was  too  happy. 

"  Yes,"  he  said  simply,  as  he  gazed  deeply  into  her 
great  eyes,  "  my  work  on  the  case  is  done." 

THE  END 


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